CONSOLIDATION 



OF 



SCHOOL DISTRICTS 



Bulletin No. 17 



REPORT OF A SUB-COMMITTEE OP THE COMMITTEE OF 
FIFTEEN APPOINTED BY THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT 
OF SCHOOLS TO INVESTIGATE CONDITIONS IN THE 
RURAL SCHOOLS OF WISCONSIN. 



Prepared by 
Pres. F. A. Cotton, Prof. M. V. O'Shea, Inspector W. E. Larson 

Issued by 
C. P. CARY, 'State Superintendent. 




Madison, Wis. 

Democrat Printing Co., State Printer 

1912 



Monognph, 



CONSOLIDATION 



OF 



SCHOOL DISTRICTS 

Bulletin No. 17 



REPORT OF A SUB-COMMITTEE OP THE COMMITTEE OF 
FIFTEEN APPOINTED BY THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT 
OF SCHOOLS TO INVESTIGATE CONDITIONS IN THE 
RURAL SCHOOLS OF WISCONSIN. 



Prepared by 
Pres. F. A. Cotton, Prof. M. V. O'Shea, Inspector W. E. Larson 

Issued by 
C. P. CARY, State Superintendent. 




Madisou, Wis. 

Democrat Printing Co., State Printer 

1912 



Cft 






This bulletin on consolidation of schools was prepared by a 
sub-committee of the Committee of Fifteen appointed by the state 
superintendent of public instruction about a year and a half 
ago. The purpose of this committee was to investigate independ- 
ently the educational situation in Wisconsin, particularly the 
conditions existing in country districts, and to report to the state 
superintendent, and perhaps to the legislature, changes that 
were regarded as desirable. Pres. P. A. Cotton of the La Crosse 
Normal School, Prof. M. V. O'Shea of the state university, and 
Inspector W. E. Larson of the state department, constitute the 
membership of this sub-committee. 

This bulletin, which I take great pleasure in publishing and 
distributing, is an excellent piece of work performed by the 
gentlemen just named solely as the result of their deep interest 
in the welfare and progress of country schools. 

C. P. Cary, 
State Superintendent. 

The Committee acknowledges its indebtedness to the following 
persons who have kindly loaned the cuts that are used in the 
bulletin : 

Supt. J. C. Brockert, Supt, Oscar Mattson, Supt. C. W. 
Meisnest; Supt. 0. J. Kern, Rockford; Supt. Vergil Hinshaw, 
Selma, Indiana; Door County Democrat; Supt. Helen Martin; 
[nspeotor S. A. Challman of Minnesota ; Supt. Jessie N. Smith. . 



B. at o. 

JAN IS 1*M3 ; 






PREFACE. 



It is a matter of common knowledge that there is dissatis- 
faction in every section of our country with the work of the 
typical district school. It is also well known that there has been 
but slight progress made in either the curriculum or the methods 
of teaching in the small rural school during the last quarter of a 
century. This has been due, without doubt, to the disadvantages 
under which the district school has labored. The typical city 
school everywhere in America has followed the plan of 
placing a large number of pupils in one building. They can 
then be grouped according to their stage of development; and 
pupils who have substantially the same needs can be taught to- 
gether by one teacher, who can become more or less of a special- 
ist in the particular work which she is required to do. Any per- 
son who is compelled to teach pupils ranging from the kinder- 
garten to the high school cannot become efficient in any depart- 
ment of the work; and this is the chief difficulty with the old- 
style district school. 

The graded city school has normally in most places been pro- 
vided with an equipment essential for good modern teaching, 
which is impossible in many ungraded rural schools. The graded 
school is able usually to secure comfortable and hygienic con- 
ditions for pupils, which is rarely the case with the district 
school. Most important of all, the city school is able as a rule to 
attract teachers who have made considerable preparation — aca- 
demic and professional — for their work, and who possess personal 
qualites necessary for effective teaching; but the district school 
is in many cases probably not as well off in this respect now as it 
was twenty-five years ago. 

The isolated district school with only a very few pupils cannot 
meet the requirements of modern education. It is useless to ex- 
pect that with a school of ten or fifteen pupils, often fewer, rang- 



4 Preface. 

ing in age from five to twenty years, and with a very slender 
equipment in books, apparatus, etc., a teacher who has had but 
meager training can accomplish work in accordance with 
present-day standards. It is for this reason that men who have 
studied rural education are urging consolidation of district 
schools as the first and chief requirement in the betterment of 
the country school. This bulletin, is designed to show what con- 
solidation means, why it is desirable, and how it can be accom- 
plished under typical conditions existing in various sections of 
the state. It has been the aim to treat the subjects of consolid- 
ation in a simple, concrete, and practical way, so that a person 
who is not familiar with the matter may get a correct notion of 
the purposes of consolidating schools, and also what has been 
accomplished thus far in this state and in other states, what the 
proven advantages of consolidation are, and how any community 
may proceed to secure a consolidated school. 

Anyone who vail glance through the following pages will see 
that consolidation has already passed the experimental stage. 
It has been tried out to a greater or less extent in most of the 
states of the country, as is shown in the proper place in this 
bulletin; and there is no case on record of any community re- 
turning to the district school plan when consolidation has once 
been put into complete operation. 

An attempt is made herein to answer, so far as can be done, 
every question a man interested in consolidation might ask, 
especially if he were in doubt about the wisdom of trying it. 
It is not too much to say that anyone who is interested in the 
improvement of social conditions in this state, whether he lives 
in the city or in the country, could profitably spend a little 
time in examining this bulletin, if he is not acquainted with 
what is being done and what ought to be done in the matter of 
abandoning the isolated district school, and establishing in its 
stead a modern, properly equipped, hygienic, and up-to-date 
central school. 

M. V. O'Shea. 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
WHAT IS CONSOLIDATION? 

By consolidation of schools is meant the uniting of two or more 
schools into one. In order that this may be understood in its 
various applications, the following concrete illustrations are 
given. 

TWO OR MORE DISTRICTS MAY BE UNITED AND THE CONSOLIDATED 
DISTRICT MAY STILL HAVE A ONE-ROOM SCHOOL. 

In Adams county, Wisconsin, there were two districts known 
as No. 8 and No. 9, in the town of Jackson. District No. 8 was 
a small district having an old schoolhouse which was unfit for 
school purposes. District No. 9 was a much larger district, and 
had a higher assessed valuation. The town board met in April, 
1911 and united these two districts into one. The new district is 
now known as No. 9. The old schoolhouse in No. 9 was moved to 
the new town of Brooks, which has sprung up as a result of the 
new railroad. The school is a one-room school now having an en- 
rollment of twenty-three pupils, but the town is growing rapidly, 
and they hope to have a two-room school in a few years. 

The following extract from an address given by County Super- 
intendent J. C. Brockert of Grant county, at the Second Wis- 
consin Country Life Conference, February, 1912, gives another 
example of this form of consolidation. 

"An illustration of the consolidation of two rural school dis- 
tricts is found in the township of South Lancaster, District 
No. 1. (See Fig. 1.) After two special meetings, one in 
each district, the patrons voted four to one to petition the town 



Consolidation of School Districts. 





FIGURE 1.— SCHOOL HOUSE IX DISTRICT NO. 1, SOUTH LANCASTER, GRANT 

COUNTY. 

(•Consolidation of Districts No. and 16.) 



board to unite the two districts. A modern rural school build- 
ing was erected at a cost of about $1,500. 

The following table gives the cost of maintaining this school 
be Tore and after consolidation. 



REDUCED COST AND IMPROVED EQUIPMENT FROM CONSOLIDATION 



Bbfore Consolidation 








i 
Two districts Two teachers 




Sfear 


District 


Teachers' 
salaries 


Total 
expense 

$252 
245 

267 
238 

287 
273 


Year 

1909 

1910 

1911 


Teachers' 
salaries 

$310 
320 
332 


Total 
expense 


1906 {J 

1907 116 

1908 J 111 


$220 
212 

236 

220 

255 
240 


$546a 

497 

391 


Totals fo 


r three years. 


$1,383 


$1,562 


$962 


f 1.434b 



a Includes $100 for heatiny plant. 

b Cost of new building is not included. 



Consolidation of School Districts. 7 

I wish to call attention to the difference in the total amount 
paid in teachers' salaries for 1906, 1907, and 1908, and the 
total amount paid out during- that same period. Compare this 
difference, which is $179, with the difference between $962 paid 
out for teachers' salaries and $1,434, the total amount paid out 
in the three years 1909, 1910, and 1911. We have : 179 : 472 : 
no equipment: good equipment," 

A DISTRICT MAY BE DISSOLVED AND THE TERRITORY DIVIDED 
AMONG NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS. 

District No. 2, town of Egg Harbor, Door county, had a small 
enrollment. This district was small, and was divided by the 
town board among three neighboring districts, Nos. 1, 4 and 3. 

Two (or more) districts may be united and the consoli- 
dated DISTRICT MAY HAVE A SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF CHILDREN 
TO MAINTAIN A STATE GRADED SCHOOL. A TWO-DEPARTMENT 

SCHOOL RECEIVES A SPECIAL STATE AID OF $200 ANNUALLY, AND 
A SCHOOL OF THREE OR MORE DEPARTMENTS RECEIVES $300. 

The following extract from Mr. Broekert's address, previously 
mentioned, gives an example of this form of consolidation : 

"Another illustration of consolidation is found in the town- 
ship of Beetown. Two adjoining districts with school houses 
about one mile apart (See Figures 2 and 3) were united and 
we have as a result a district with an assessed valuation of 
nearly half a million dollars; a district with an up-to-date con- 
solidated school building of three rooms (See. Figure 4). It is 
a school of two departments with room for a third department 
when the time comes to use it. 

The people of this community can point with pride to their 
educational center. It is a school that good teachers seek and 
where good teachers are employed. In this day of vocational 
training, consolidation, and transportation, think of the ad- 
vantage this district or even township has with which to start 
a special course in agriculture, or manual training, or domes- 
tic science." 

Dist. No. 1 and Dist. No. 4 of the Town of Brussels, Door 
county were consolidated, the resulting district being known 
as No. 1. The new building which has been erected by the con- 
solidated district is a modern structure containing three rooms. 



Consolidation of School Districts. 




FIGURE 2.— UPPER SCHOOL, BEETOWN (ABANDONED) 




■ : i 





FIGURE ::. [£>WEB SCHOOL BEETOWN (ABANDONED) 



Consolidation of School Districts. 




FIGURE! 4.— UPPER A^D LOWER SCHOOLS, BEETOWN, CONSOLIDATED 

By uniting two adjoining districts a $5,000 building was erected, providing for the 
health of the children and effectiveness of the teaching. 



At present the district is maintaining a state graded school of 
the second class. No transportation is furnished. (See Fig 5). 

' ' Districts No. 2 and No. 5, Town of Linn, were united making 
No. 9. A four-room brick school house, well lighted and venti- 
lated, with a furnace in the basement, was built at Zend ! a in the 
summer of 1910. Only two rooms are used at present. (Fig. 6) 

Why not put more districts together in this way and give 
pupils the advantage of a graded school?" — Walworth County 
Annual, Helen Martin, County Superintendent. 



Two (or more) districts may be united and the consoli- 
dated DISTRICT MAY CONTAIN SEVERAL SCHOOLS, ONE OF WHICH 
MAY BE GRADED. THIS FORM OF CONSOLIDATION BRINGS ABOUT 
A LARGER UNIT FOR SCHOOL TAXATION, AND MAKES POSSIBLE THE 
ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVANCED WORK IN A CENTRAL SCHOOL WHILE 
AT THE SAME TIME BRANCH SCHOOLS ARE MAINTAINED FOR THF. 
SMALLER CHILDREN. 



10 



Consolidation of School Districts. 




FIGURE 5.-DISTRICT NO. 1, BRUSSELS, DOOR COUNTY (See p. 7). 
('Consolidated from Old District No. 1 and No. 4.) 



Consolidation of School Districts. 



11 




FIGURE 6.— STATE GRADED SCHOOL, ZENDA (See p. 0). 

In the town of Knox, Price county, there were two districts, 
No. 1 and No. 4, with schools having a very large attendance. 
Either the districts would have to be divided or an additional 
room provided in each case. An adjoining district, No. 3, had a 
poor schoolhouse and would have to build in the near future. A 
fourth district, No. 5, had a schoolhouse that was quite near to 
the other three. The town board met and, after considering the 
situation, joined the four districts, thus making one large 
district. A central school has been built near the village of 
Brantwood, and three of the other buildings are also used. The 
central school is at present maintaining two departments. 



When the township system was abolished in 1912, many of the 
towns in the northern part of the state organized as one inde- 
pendent district. 

As a result many districts in northern Wisconsin contain 
from two to ten school buildings. In many cases, however, each 
building has a one-room school. In two instancevS in particular, 
Port Wing and North Crandon, there are central schools, to 
which the children from the whole town are transported. 



12 Consolidation of School Districts. 

One district may vote to close its school temporarily, 
and make provision for the schooling of its children in 
some adjoining district or districts. this, strictly speaking, 
is not a consolidation of school districts, but it is the con- 
solidation of school interest, and may be feasible where 
real consolidation cannot be effected. 

District No. 3, town of Hazel Green, Grant county, has a 
comparatively small school and is situated about three miles 
from the village. For the past three years this district has 
closed its school, and transported the children to the grades in the 
village of Hazel Green. The district in this case has maintained 
its organization, and spends its money for tuition and trans- 
portation instead of maintaining its own school. - (Figures 7 
and 8) 



FIGURE 7. TRANSPORTATION WAGON USED BY DISTRICT NO. 3, HAZEL GREEN 

GRANT COUNT!'. 

Number of pupils transported, 14. Average daily attendance, 12. 

The following letter from Snpt. Oscar F. Mattson of Pierce 
county relates an experience which may he of value to people 
in other communities : 

"Your letter asking for information in regard to the trans- 
portatioi] at Rock Elm is at hand, and I am pleased to tell you 
what I know about it. 

This plan was started a year ago last fall, and last summer 
at the annual school meeting the voters in No. 10 Jt. decided 
by a vote of 26 to 6 to continue the plan during the present 



Consolidation of School Districts. 



13 



year. Last year the total number of pupils transported was 20, 
and it is about the same this year. The total cost last year 
was $485, and of this they got $150 back. This year the Rock 
Elm graded school district furnishes books, tuition, and trans- 
portation for $500. The real expense to district No. 10 is there- 
fore only $350.00. The parents are well satisfied with the re- 
sults. They had two graduates last year^ and those two are do- 
ing 9th grade work this year and are therefore enabled to do 
high school work while staying at home. 



I 1 





FIGURE 8. 



-SOHOOLHOUSE IN DISTRICT NO. 3, HAZEL GREEN. 
LONGER USED. 



BUILDING NO 



The school house in Dist. No. 10 is worth not over $1,000. It 
is an old church transformed into a school house, and never 
proved very satisfactory. A new chimney and other repairs 
were needed to make the school house warmer, and before put- 
ting more expense on it they decided to try the transportation 
plan." (See Fig. 9) 



14 



Consolidation of School Districts. 




FIGURE 9.— RO'CK ELM* GRADED SCHOOL AXD TRANSPORTATION RIG. 
With pupils from District No. 10, Joint, Rock Elm (See pp. 12 and 13). 

TWO (OR MORE) DISTRICTS MAY BE UNITED AND THE CONSOLI- 
DATED DISTRICT MAY BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN A HIGH SCHOOL IN 
ADDITION TO THE GRADES. 



The Harlem School 

A consolidated school is located in Harlem township. Winne- 
bago county, Illinois, and is therefore near the people living in 
the southern part of Wisconsin. The following is quoted from 
Superintendent 0. J. Kern's Annual Report for 1911, 

"The second consolidated school in Winnebago County is in Har- 
lem Township. This was organized on the first Monday in April. 
1910, upon petition of the legal voters of four districts. 

The new district lies in four different school townships. It com- 
prises 18 sections of land thus equal in area to one-half of a town- 
ship six miles square. The new district is made up of the four dis- 
tricts, viz: District 49, the Lovejoy school; District 52, the Bruner 
school; District 56, the Free Soil school; District 61, the Union 
school. In district 49 twelve legal voters signed the petition for 
consolidation while three did not. In district 52 nineteen voters 
signed and none did not. In district 5 6 nineteen voters signed 
while three did not and two of the three not signing were not called 
upon. In district 61 forty-five of the sixty voters signed and of those 
not signing several would have signed had they been at home when 
the solicitor called. So the sentiment was practically unanimous. 
The petition was granted unanimously by the trustees of the four 
different school townships. 

The valuation of the consolidated district in 1909 was as follows: 
District 49, $71,419; District 52, $68,206; District 56, $72,114; 
District 61, $142,666; thus making a total valuation of $354,425. 

Bonds to the amount of $18,000 were voted by a decisive vote of 
6 4 votes "For" and 16 votes "Against." An error in the assessed 



Consolidation of School Districts. 



15 




FIGURE. 10.— WHOLESOME PLAT AT THE HARLEM CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL 
NOVEMBER, 1911. (See pp. 14-15). 

The boys at right are playing Volley Ball; Primary Children at left in a Circle Game; 
and girls in middle foreground are ready for a game of Hockey. The teachers 
direct the play until the games are learned. 




FIGURE ll.-tDOMESTIO SCIENCE LAI'. ORATORY IN THE HAKI.KM CONSOLI- 
DATED SCHOOL. 

Instructor, Miss Eldora Welch. This work with girls will result in finer country homes. 



16 Consolidation of School Districts. 

valuation of one district made a second vote on bonds necessary to 
come within the legal limit. The final amount of bonds is $17,700 
which is the legal five per cent on the 1909 assessed valuation of 
$354,425. The bonds run twenty years, are paid in fifteen annual 
installments commencing in five years, thus paying interest only 
for the first five years. The bonds carry a rate not to exceed five 
per cent. The. increased valuation of the consolidated district dur- 
ing the next five years will keep tax rate low. That part of the 
country along the trolley is growing rapidly and will grow still more 
rapidly now that a fine school is located within reach of all. The 
assessed valuation of 1909 was $354,425. The assessed valuation 
for 1910 is $383,797, a gain of $29,372 before work was even begun 
on the new school building. 

The assessed valuation in 1911 is $487,365 this being a gain of 
$132,940 since the consolidation movement began in 1909. The 
assessed valuation in 1910 was $383,797. 

The first school board is Mr. A. J. Lovejoy, Mr. Junius Snow and 
Mr. O. H. Conklin. The new board as one of its first acts voted 
unanimously to employ only State Normal or University graduates, or 
equivalent. The board's first tax levy for 1910-1911 to pay interest 
on $17,700 bonds for new building and material site of two acres 
and general running expenses of school is $3,500 making a rate of 95 
cents on the $100 on the 1910 assessed valuation of $383,797. The 
rate for Rockford for school purposes in 1910 is $1.41 on the $100 
on an assessed valuation of $17,848,697. A levy of $4,500 was 
made in 1911 on an assessed valuation of $487,365 thus making a 
rate of 95 cents on a $100. The rate for Rockford for school pur- 
poses is $1.90 on the $100 on an assessed valuation of $18,699,561. 
The board expect to have a first class four year high school with 
agriculture, manual training and domestic science in the course of 
study. The principal is paid $100 per month, the grammar teacher 
$60 per month, the primary teacher $60 per month, and the domes- 
tic science teacher $60 per month. Other teachers will be added as 
the school grows. Country people can have first class teachers and 
first class schools when they pay the price. There is no other way." 

The John Swaney School 

Near the village of McNabb, Illinois, there were three school 
districts, known as No. 22, No. 23, and No. 25. The voters of 
these districts petitioned for a consolidation in 1906. After 
some time the petition was granted and the three districts con- 
solidated. This school is now known as the John Swaney 
school, and is located in Magnolia township, Putnam county, 
Illinois. A new building was erected and was occupied in Jan- 
uary, 1907. The district maintains a high school in addition to 
the regular eight grades. Transportation is furnished volun- 
tarily. In Illinois public money cannot be used for transpor- 
tation. This school introduced agricultural work into its course 
very early, and has been visited by people from all parts of 
the country. 

"The school is housed in a $12,000 two and a half story brick build- 
ing, containing four recitation rooms, two laboratories, a large audi- 
torium, two library and office rooms, a boys' manual training room, a 



Consolidation of School Districts. 17 

girls' play room, furnace room and cloak rooms. All are lighted with 
gasoline gas generated by a plant, the reservoir of which is stored out- 
side of the building. The laboratories are also fornished with gas 
from this plant. The building is heated with steam and furnished 
with running water supplied by an air pressure system. 

The building is located near the north side of a beautiful campus 
consisting of twenty-four acres of woodland. It has a gradual slope 
from the building southward to Clear Creek, which winds its way along 
the south side of the plat of ground. To the east is another slope at 
the bottom of which is a small stream. The grounds are dotted here 
and there with groups of forest trees of oak, elm, ash, hard maple, 
black and white walnut, pignut, locust and hawthorn."— School Cata- 
log, 1911-12. 

The John Swaney School is located in the country more than two 
miles from a village. 

The Lewiston School 

Lewiston, Minnesota, is a small village of about 300 inhabi- 
tants, lying about 20 miles west of Winona, on the C. & N. W. 
Ry. This village had a graded school of two departments and 
near it were three country schools. In 1905 these four dis- 
tricts, known as No. 22, No. 23, No. 24 and No. 93 were consol- 
idated. The assessed valuation of the consolidated district is 
approximately $350,000. A new school building was recently 
erected. In this building is now maintained a school in which 
the children of the district may get not only an elementary 
education but a high-school course as well. In this high school, 
agriculture, manual training, and domestic science are taught. 
Three wagons convey the children from the surrounding districts. 
A fifth district known as district No. 38 has also closed its school, 
and made provision with the consolidated district for the edu- 
cation of its children. People in the western part of Wiscon- 
sin will find it profitable to visit this school. 

"Careful plans were laid to insure a building which would meet 
every requirement from a sanitary and an educational point of view. 
The school board left nothing undone to secure a modern, well 
lighted, well ventilated, properly heated, commodious, convenient, 
and safe school building. The fruition of their hopes was at last 
ready for dedication on the 29th of May, 1907. 

The building is of generous dimensions, 81 feet 6 inches by 63 
feet. Two exits, spacious corridors, and broad stairways make pos- 
sible the rapid and orderly dismissal of pupils in case of fire. Four 
grade rooms, each seating about forty-two pupils, are found on the 
first floor. A cloak room adjoins each. On the landing between 
the first and the second floor is the office, immediately above the 
front entrance. On the second floor are: One grade room of the 
same size as the rooms on the first floor; a high school assembly 
room seating fifty pupils; a recitation room, connected with the as- 
sembly room by folding and sliding doors; a second recitation room; 
a large laboratory with a small store room and a dark room adjoin- 



18 



Consolidation of School Districts. 




Consolidation of School Districts. 



19 



ing; a library 10 feet 6 inches wide by 20 feet long. In the base- 
ment are two lunch rooms for those bringing their noonday meal, 
the boiler room, and lavatories. The building is heated by steam and 
equipped with a Direct-Indirect system of ventilation. Drinking 
fountains are found on each floor. The lighting is unilateral. 

All the school rooms present a neat and pleasing appearance. 
Slate blackboards, single desks, a clock in each room, sectional book 
cases in some rooms, an organ in one, a piano in the high school room, 
a case containing natural history specimens, in addition to the ap- 
paratus generally found in a school room, indicates something of 
the environment thrown around the pupils. A library of more than 
900 volumes, to which pupils have access during the entire day, is 
another gratifying instance of what the school offers its pupils." — 
Inspector 8. A. Challman in Minnesota Bulletin. 



wmship 106, Range 9. 




No93 

16 



2; 



No £4 



15 



2Z 



£8 



Zl 



No 2 

village or LFWISrOM 

□ 

NEW SCHOOL HOUSE 



No£3 



2£ 



!3 




Consolidated District No 22 , Winona County. 

FIGURE 13.— THE LiEWISTO'N CONSOLIDATED DTSTRTCT. 



20 Consolidation of School Districts. 

The Selma School. 

One of the best illustrations of consolidation on a large scale is 
found in the township of Liberty, Delaware county, Indiana. 
In the center of this township is the little village of Selma with 
a population of about 350, which is located about eight miles 
east of Muncie. The township has an area of thirty-six square 
miles. Originally there were eleven schools, all of them one- 
room buildings, except the one in the village. The village 
school had three teachers. There were, therefore, thirteen 
teachers employed in the township at that time. When the 
consolidation movement began, two schools united with the village 
school, and a few of the high-school subjects were introduced. 
Other schools came in from time to time, until all the eleven 
schools were joined to the one consolidated school. 

The consolidated school as run at present has been in existence 
five years. There are now nine teachers employed, and a full 
high-school course is offered to the children of the community. 
Thirteen wagons convey the children from the country. 
These wagons carry an average of 16, to 18 children, and the 
average length that the children on the ends of the drives have 
to ride is five and one-tenth miles. The township furnishes the 
wagons, and the drivers furnish the teams. Each driver receives 
$2.00 per day. An interurban runs through the village, and 
twenty children are brought to school in this way. 

It will be seen from the discussion thus far that the question 
of consolidation is a complex one, and the phase it assumes 
in any community depends upon the local conditions. In some 
localities it may be impossible to consolidate at all. George 
W. Knorr, in his Bulletin on Consolidated Rural Schools, says: 
"Of the approximately 6,000,000 country boys and girls in 
the United States, two-thirds should eventually receive their 
schooling and a part of their vocational education in consoli- 
dated schools, leaving 2,000,000 who would, as heretofore, be 
educated in district schools in sections where physical condi- 
tions made consolidation impossible." 

Before taking any definite action a community should make 
a thorough study of the local situation to ascertain which of 
the examples given in this chapter will be the best to follow. 
The question should be studied from a broad standpoint. People 



Consolidation of School Districts. 



21 






22 



Consolidation of School Districts. 




Consolidation of School Districts. 23 

should consider, not simply the immediate needs, but the fu- 
ture possibilities. We are living in a transitional period, when 
educational systems and ideals are changing. Rural commun- 
ities must as far as possible have school advantages which will 
be equivalent to the opportunities enjoyed by the cities. It 
is evident that in order tx> secure the best facilities it is neces- 
sary to co-operate on the largest scale possible. 

In this connection attention is called to the following ex- 
tract from the Bulletin on Consolidation of Schools by L. C. 
Brogden, Supervisor of Rural Elementary Schools of North 
Carolina : 

"While it is obvious that the educational advantages offered by 
the union school of two teachers are far superior to the educational 
opportunities offered by the one-teacher school, yet there is the 
probable danger of feeling content with this simplest type of con- 
solidation, this union school of the two-teacher type. Too often, 
after having formed union schools of the two-teacher type, do we 
feel that we have reached the limit of practicability in the consoli- 
dation of schools and that a larger type of consolidation is not 
necessary for a high degree of efficiency. While it is true that in 
many instances the limit of practicability has been reached in the 
formation of this union school of the two-teacher type with reference 
to the walking distance of the pupils, yet to regard this type of 
school as the final goal in our efforts for consolidation, to regard it 
as the final .step essential to be taken, would be a most unwise con- 
clusion to reach, and would result in preventing the highest possible 
development and efficiency of our rural schools; for, like the one- 
teacher school, this two-teacher type of school has its own natural 
limitations that prevent it from ever becoming the most efficient and 
economic type of the consolidated school." 

Having made a general survey of the several phases of the 
consolidation movement, we are now in a position to give some 
special consideration to the possibilty of the development of 
school systems in communities where consolidation on a large 
scale is feasible. 



24 Consolidation of School Districts. 



CHAPTER II. 

CONSOLIDATION OF COUNTRY SCHOOLS, PURPOSES 
AND ADVANTAGES. 

1. Equal Educational Opportunity. 

If the principle of universal educational opportunity is 
fundamental in a democracy, the principle that educational 
opportunity shall be equal is equally fundamental. While 
there probably never was a time when both of these propositions 
were not generally accepted, the student of the seventy-three years 
of Wisconsin history is surprised to find how slow their realiza- 
tion has been. 

Equal opportunity means equal length of school term ; the term 
now ranges from 8 to 10 months in Wisconsin. It means equal ma- 
terial equipment; it now varies from the most ancient, most 
poorly constructed, most uncomfortable single-room school houses 
in the remotest district, to the handsomest, best constructed, 
most completely furnished, most comfortable modern building, in 
an easily accessible location. It means equal supervision ; super- 
vision now varies from a single visitation of the superintendent, 
to the closest daily sympathetic supervision of the expert super- 
visor. It means equal teaching ability ; this now ranges from ab- 
solute incompetency to the highest and most skillful professional 
proficiency. It means equal facilities for the work in the common 
branches ; in the district school there is one teacher in one room 
with from five to eight grades, teaching twenty to forty classes, 
while in the town and city schools and in many consolidated 
schools in the country, each grade is provided with a teacher. It 
means equal high school privileges; in many country communi- 
ties there are no high schools at all ; in some country communities 
there are high schools with an inadequate teaching force; in 



riiANM'lild AllnX V11IK IKS I'M- D IN SKI MA, INDIANA 



Consolidation op School Districts. 25 

some country communities there are well-equipped, long-term 
high schools that do work equal in every respect to the best 
high schools in towns and cities. 

2. Indifference the Cause of Diversity in Opportunity. 

The chief cause of this wide diversity in opportunity is in- 
difference. Somehow the people have not realized that better 
things are possible. With the town (township) broken into 
small districts, each being small in school attendance, it is simply 
out of the question to provide the best educational advantages. 
And it is not a financial question; even if the best material 
equipment and the finest teaching ability could be provided, 
the small attendance the limited community renders inevitable, 
would make it impossible for the small school to accomplish what 
schools in larger centers accomplish. Under the best conditions, 
including adequate salaries, school officials find it difficult to 
secure good teachers for these small schools, and they find it 
impossible to keep these positions filled with competent, experi- 
enced men and women. As a matter of fact, there is a tendency 
on the part of the patrons and officials to minimize the impor- 
tance of these small rural schools, and to employ for them cheap, 
inexperienced teachers. There are many small country schools 
in which inexperienced teachers have been employed year after 
year for eight or ten years. And so these small schools become 
practice schools for the larger and, so considered at least, more 
important schools in towns and cities, or mere stepping stones 
to other callings. 

3. Ideal Country School System. 

A complete central school in each town (township), to which 
all the children shall go is the only effective plan for the country 
schools. This central school should have a kindergarten, 
eight grades, and a high school with a four-year course. 
It should have complete, well-equipped modern buildings. Here 
should be located the township library, which should contain 
books selected with a view to meeting the demands of the com- 
munity, and which should have arrangements for distributing 
these books by means of transportation hacks, which take the 



26 



Consolidation of School Districts. 




Consolidation of School Districts. 27 

children to and from the schools, and free daily mail systems. 
Here should also be held the lecture courses, musical programs, 
and all kinds of meetings for the education and entertainment 
of the people. 

The school should have a piece of land equipped for scien- 
tific elementary agriculture and nature study. It should have 
manual training departments, including work in wood, cement, 
metal, etc., for the boys, and domestic science, including cooking 
and sewing, for the girls. The school should be in session at least 
eight months in the year, and should be the center of community 
interests. Finally, it should have for teachers the best prepared 
men and women, who have chosen teaching as their life work, who 
live in the community and: who are paid respectable salaries. 
With such an organization, more importance than ever will 
attach to the central school, and the people can be depended on 
to demand such a school when they understand its larger ad- 
vantages for the pupils and the community. During a visit 
to some consolidated schools recently, a condition was found 
which approaches very nearly the ideal set forth above. Here 
the superintendent of the consolidated school is also superinten- 
dent of a Sunday school. 

He is a leader of the band which he organized and of an 
orchestra composed of students in the high school. He has 
established manual training and domestic science, and con- 
ducts classes in music and drawing. He owns a home in the 
town and has the interests, not only of the students, but of 
the community at heart, and is making its welfare his life 
work. Through consolidation, then, it looks as though the 
rural schools might come into their own, and equal educational 
opportunity might be secured for the children of cities and 
country. 

4. Arguments for the Consolidation, of Schools. 

Consolidation permits better grading, and insures the enroll- 
ment of a larger percent of pupils and a better attendance. It 
also lengthens the school term, secures a more efficient teach- 
ing corps,, and increases the period of service of such teachers. 
It insures better school buildings, better equipment, and quick- 
ens public interest in schools. The larger boys and the larger 
girls are kept in schools longer, and it enables hundreds who 



28 



Consolidation of School Districts. 




Consolidation of School Districts. 29 

could not otherwise have done so, to take advantage of a high- 
school course. It affords an opportunity for thorough work 
in special branches, such as manual training, domestic science, 
drawing, music, agriculture, etc. It enables the young people 
to stay on the farms, enjoy quiet evenings at home ; and at the 
same time, it furnishes them with many of the advantages of the 
city schools, while avoiding the disadvantages of city life. It 
stimulates and broadens community interest. It creates wider 
circles of friendships and refines social life. The consolidated 
high school is a thing of widely shared pride. It has charac- 
ter and dignity, and should prove a powerful force in weld- 
ing interests, tastes, sympathies and friendships of a one-time 
diversified township into a sympathetic community life. 

It affords better opportunity for general supervision and for 
better professional work in the schools. 

It will increase the value of farm lands, and make desirable 
the residences in the town (township). 

It enlarges the unit af taxation, and thus distributes the cost 
of the schools more equitably. 

It will extend the school term so that city and country will 
have more nearly equal educational advantages. 

It will increase the salaries of teachers, and so make these 
positions desirable. Graduates from the consolidated high 
schools, with eight or nine months term and a minimum salary 
for teachers of $600 as incentives, will get their academic prep- 
aration for the work in the consolidated schools. These gradu- 
ates, being in sympathy with country life, will take an interest 
in the community, buy homes, and become permanent citizens. 
They will make the very best teachers for the country schools. 
They will know the problems of the farm, and will be able to 
use their farm experiences in the school work. They will be 
able to interest the boy in the work on the farm, and show him 
how he can make use of the advantages he has. Such teachers 
will have a large influence in keeping the boy on the farm. They 
will be able to get in closer touch with the farmers, which will 
make both farm work and school work better, 

Consolidation will insure better classification and gradation in 
the schools, for with the same, or even a smaller, teaching force 
for a given number of district schools, the work may be divided 
into grades, resulting in fewer classes for each teacher, longer 
recitation periods, proper direction of study periods, time for 



30 Consolidation of School Districts. 

careful lesson assignments, the presentation of all the required 
subjects, and more thorough drill in all the work. 

The teaching all along the line will he better, for the reason 
that teachers will be given the subjects in which they are in- 
terested and for which they have made special preparation. De- 
partmental work may be introduced, and special teachers assigned 
to these particular subjects. The consolidated school offers more 
congenial work for the. teacher, which will insure a longer ten- 
ure of service. Teachers who are well prepared and fit harmon- 
iously into a community can do much better work the second, 
third, and fourth years than is possible during the first year. 

Consolidation will improve the discipline in the school, for the 
reason that all grades will not require the same care. 

Better equipment can be secured and more use made of it, 
for in many instances, one piece of apparatus will serve the en- 
tire school, whereas the district plan requires a separate piece 
for each school. Consequently, with a given amount of money, 
more pieces of apparatus may be secured. More reference 
books and more literature may be secured for the reasons given 
above ; likewise more supplementary books. There will be more 
time to use the material provided, and teachers will be more 
familiar with its use, because of their greater experience and 
better training. 

Better physical and sanitary surroundings will be secured, 
for it is probable that a new building will be erected, and a 
large building with a given number of rooms may be better and 
more economically constructed than the same number of separate 
single rooms of the same quality and equipment, for the reason 
that there is less external exposure ; there is less wall space re- 
quired: there is less basement required for additional heating ap- 
paratus, coal rooms and toilet rooms ; and one heating equipment 
will serve all rooms with less expense. The janitor service will be 
more easily controlled for the reason that one person will be 
secured to devote his entire time to the work, whereas with 
separate rooms this is impractical. With consolidation the service 
becomes a distinct profession and the work is well done. 

The toilet rooms are always under supervision by the presence 
of a janitor or a teacher at all times when large numbers of 
children are brought toegther in a central school. Flush or dry 
closets may be installed, whereas in single room district school 



Consolidation of School Districts. 31 

houses, this is almost impossible. Better heading and ventil- 
ating systems may be installed, for the reason that the best 
systems are expensive and require special attention, making such 
installation almost impractical in single-room buildngs. 

The social training will be improved, for the reason that the 
acquaintanceship of pupils will be enlarged. The several districts 
will become unified. The influence of trained teachers, who will 
perhaps be more familiar with the graces and usages of society, 
will be felt ; there will be a sufficient number to inspire interest in 
lecture courses, school entertainments, reading clubs, debating 
societies, athletic clubs, corn clubs, cooking clubs, and sewing 
clubs for the pupils, and agricultural and home making organ- 
izations for the men and women. 

5. The Relation of the School to Life. 

There is a vital relation between country life and the country 
school which has not been appreciated by many. The country 
school has not even begun to fulfill its mission, for the simple 
reason that there have in fact been no genuine country schools. 
Their province has not been to educate, to devolop boys and 
girls into men and women, capable of doing their share of the 
world's work intelligently and skillfully, but to impart unre- 
lated facts of arithmetic, geography, and history. The country 
has had such schools, but they have never recognized their dis- 
tinctive environment, or let it make any difference in their mode 
of procedure. They have never realized that their problem is a 
distinct one, and that the means are peculiar. The farmers 
could not solve the problem ; they have their own work to do 
and it isn't their business. And the educators have worshipped 
tradition so long that it has been almost impossible for them to 
look fairly and squarely at the nature, conditions, environment 
and needs of the child, and let these determine the problems 
and means of education. 

a. The School as a Center of Country Life. 

"With the school as the center of country life, economic, social 
and educational interests can work out their problems together. 



32 Consolidation of School Districts. 

In the nature of the case, most farmers must live on their farms. 
Those whose circumstances will permit may build their homes 
in the school center vicinity, but the school must be the center. 
The teachers should be well prepared men and women, 
thoroughly in touch with the problems and interests of the town- 
ship, and permanent residents of the community. They should 
understand the relation between education and agriculture, 
and should be able to create in the boys and girls a love for the 
land. Good roadsi will center here from every direction and 
and convenience should shortly result in all residences being 
located upon these direct lines. 1 Of course, the natural con- 
ditions of the township must determine the center, or the centers, 
for hills, the size of the township and streams may make more 
than one center necessary. 

• 
b. The School the Center of Social Life. 

With competent teachers and an enlarged community in the 
township educational affairs will take on new interest. The 
school will, in fact, become the center of the social life of the 
community. The citizens will have a meeting place to discuss 
every phase of life — agriculture, educational, religion, politics. 
Provision may be made for good lectures, the best music, etc. 
In their daily work the best teachers will bind together the 
interests of school and community. They will use their know- 
ledge of rural life in their school work. The boy will find him- 
self and his farm experiences in every lesson assigned. In arith- 
metic the problems will be concrete and tangible, and will clinch 
every principle with their every day practical applications. In 
language the children will talk and write about interests in 
country life, — things which they know and in which they are 
interested, and every lesson will be alive. In geography, likewise, 
the earth facts or forms at hand will furnish the topics for in- 
vestigation, and will become the point of departure for the excur- 
sion into the wide world of science. 

These teachers, having been thoroughly prepared, will know 
the nature of the soil, and can show the practical value to the 
farmer of a knowledge of chemistry. In the high school they 
will be able to direct work in elementary agriculture and to 
turn the study of this industry to account both in and out of 



Consolidation op School Districts. 83 

school. In the grade work it will serve as illustrative material 
in nearly every subject taught, and will be the means of ad- 
justing the education of the head and hand in country life edu- 
cation. It will help the teacher to turn all the surplus energy of 
childhood into educative channels. 

c. Clubs for Children and Parents. 

Out of school it will furnish the best opportunity for work in 
the community. Corn clubs for the boys, cooking and sewing 
clubs for the girls, agricultural societies for the parents — these 
will give the teacher a chance to get into the lives of the people. 
Once started, such work will become an endless chain. The 
pupils of this generation are to be the parents and teachers of 
the next. The work will be educative in an exceedingly practi- 
cal sense. Parents will readily put themselves behind a move- 
ment of this kind that promises so much for their children, and 
will desire its continuance and enlargement, regardless of cost. 
The children themselves when once shown that it takes brains to 
manage a farm, and that the returns are substantial, and the 
work dignified, would more and more decide to prepare thor- 
oughly to do the work of the farm. They will soon understand 
that farming is the fundamental industry in this country, and 
that honorable, comfortable competencies await the intelligent 
tiller of the soil. 

One result of such work in the school will be to induce the boy 
to remain on the farm or take up the industry of his father, 
and so begin early an earnest, settled mode of life. As our 
country grows older, and the chance for successful haphazard 
careers grow fewer, the necessity of preparing to do some definite 
work in life will become more apparent. The school, of all insti- 
tutions, must direct boys and girls in the work they are to do. 

This kind of work in the schools, based upon a close relation 
between the work of the school and the home, will have a far- 
reaching effect on both insitutions. It will prepare children who 
come up through the grades and high schools, for doing a hi^l. 
grade of practical and industrial work in both the elementarv 
and secondary schools, when they take up the work of teaching. 
From the home and industry side the influences would De tremen- 
dous. Two decades of this sort of thing in the schools touching 
3 



34 Consolidation of School Districts. 

the lives of all the boys and girls would revolutionize agricul 
ture in this country and would be the fore-runner of the great- 
est industrial development this country has ever known. Men 
and women so trained would work in the industries for the joy 
that comes from doing a worthy work well, for the satisfaction 
that comes from thorough preparation. Along with this satis- 
faction would come larger self-respect and larger returns in dol- 
lars and cents. 



Consolidation of School Districts. 35 



CHAPTER III. 

CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSPORTATION IN 
WISCONSIN. 

The following article was prepared specially for the Un ; ted 
States Bureau of Education. It is given here with the per- 
mission of the Bureau. 

The Port Wing Consolidated School. 

Port Wing is a small unincorporated village situated on Lake 
Superior, in Bayfield county. The country around it is yet 
comparatively new, although it has been developed quite ex- 
tensively during the last few years. This part of the state has 
great possibilities, and it was because of this fact that some of 
the leading citizens of the community planned the school system 
of the town of Port Wing. 

history of the school. 

In 1894 a small mill was erected at the village and a school 
was organized. By 1898 the number of pupils had increased 
to such an extent that a two-department school was established 
in two buildings, and about three miles away a smaller school 
was located in a log school house. In 1900 the town of Port 
Wing was organized and the township system of school govern- 
ment was established. Because of the increased school atten- 
dance the authorities were compelled to provide added 
school facilities. Some of the leaders, anticipating the growth 
of the community, decided to erect a building which would 
accommodate at least 400 pupils, and provide transportation for 
the children living at a distance. The school three miles away 
was closed. Instead of building schoolhouses in various parts of 



36 



Consolidation of School Districts. 



the town as settlers moved in, the school board provided trans- 
portation facilities. 

When the township system was abolished in 1911 and the 
district system substituted, the whole town of Port Wing was 
organized as one single and independent district. 




FIGURE 19.— PUBLIC SCHOOL, PORT WING, WISCONSIN. 



THE SCHOOL BUILDING. 

The school building itself is an eight-room structure, and built 
of the best materials. The present cost, including heating 
system and equipment, is approximately $30,000. In the erection 
of the building the town was aided by a loan of $10,000 from 
the state trust funds, which amount was paid in three years. 
The building was erected at a time when the lumbering industry 
was prominent. Owing to the foresight of the leading men of 
the community, the settlers now have an excellent school building 
which is the pride of the town. 



THE SCHOOL. 

At the present time five teachers are employed. The district 
maintains what is known in Wisconsin as a ''State Graded School 
of the First Class." Nine grades are being maintained. The 
principal of the school holds a state certificate, and the other 
teachers have qualifications required by the state graded school 
law. The amount paid for teachers' salaries during the year 



Consolidation of School Districts. 37 

1911-12 was $2520. The total enrollment is about 150 pupils. 
The length of the term is nine months, the minimum required 
in all state graded schools. The total amount expended for 
school purposes the past year was approximately $6000. Of this 
sum about $1000 was spent for permanent improvements and 
equipment, leaving the actual cost of maintenance approximately 
$5000. The assessed valuation of the town of Port Wing is 
approximately $500,000. 

TRANSPORTATION. 

During the past year five wagons were used to transport the 
children to school. Four of these were in operation the entire 
school year and the fifth was used six months. The transporta- 
tion routes are determined by the board, and let out by bids to 
responsible drivers. The total cost of transportation for the 
past year was $1255.41. The drivers receive from $30 to $38 
per month, and furnish their own wagons. These wagons are 
covered and the children are kept comfortable. Not a day has 
been lost by the drivers since the system was established. Only 
a very few children are being transported more than four miles. 
The attendance is excellent at all times. 

COMMUNITY ADVANTAGES. 

The school building contains one large assembly room which 
is used for public meetings of various kinds. Programs are 
being given by the school during the year and other gather- 
ings are occasionally held. The community has an excellent 
opportunity to make the school a social and civic center. As 
the country becomes more settled and the school attendance 
increases, it will be possible to extend the course so that more 
grades may be added. Eventually Port Wing will have a 
high school of its own in which the young people can get an 
advanced education right at home. The course of study for 
state graded schools includes instruction in agriculture, and 
this subject mil do much to get the young people interested 
in the industrial development of the surrounding country. 



38 Consolidation of School Districts. 



CONCLUSIONS. 

To give the children of the town school facilities locally it 
would be necessary to maintain at least five schools in addition to 
the graded school at Port Wing. Most of these schools would 
have a small attendance, and some of the children would have 
a considerable distance to walk. There is no comparison between 
the present school facilities and what they would be if small 
schools were established in various parts of the town. Though 
there was considerable opposition to the plan at the beginning, 
there would now be unanimous opposition to return to the 
small school plan. The cost under the present system is not 
greater than it would be if small schools were established 
and maintained in a proper manner. 

Further information regarding this school can be had by 
writing to any of the school officers, to County Superintendent 
Jessie N. Smith, Washburn, Wis., or to James Daly, Port Wing. 



Other Instances of Consolidation and Transportation in 

Wisconsin. 

Adams County. District No. 8 and district No. 9, town of 
Jackson, joined in 1911. No transportation furnished. 

Ashland County. One wagon is used to bring children into 
the school in the village of Butternut. 

Barron County. District No. 1, joint Cameron and town of 
Stanley, transport children to the schools in their own district. 

District No. 5, Dallas, also transport children to their own 
school. 

Bayfield County. District No. 3, town of Lincoln, has closed 
its school and transports its children to district No. 2. 

Town of Port Wing has a central school. Pupils are trans- 
ported. Five wagons used. 

Pupils are transported to the Bayfield school. Four vehicles 
are used and 81 children conveyed. 

Buffalo County. District No. 1, town of Modena, uses one 
wagon to bring some of the children to school five months of 
the year. 

Burnett County. District No. 1, joint Meenon and Jackson, 
closed its school last year. The children are sent to district No. 



Consolidation of School Districts. 39 

8, Jackson. One rig was used in transporting the children. 
This district has voted to have school again this year. 

District No. 5, Webb Lake, closed its school last year but did 
not provide transportation. All pupils in that district went to 
other schools. School is maintained this year. 

District No. 4, Blaine, uses two rigs in transporting the chil- 
dren to their own school. There is one schoolhouse in the 
township and one teacher employed. This plan has been follow- 
ed for a number of years and seems to be giving good satisfaction 
They have one of the best rural schools in the county. 

Calumet County. District No. 2 and District No. 4, of the 
town of Woodville, have been joined into one district. 

School District No. 3, of the town of Brothertown, Calumet 
County, voted to close its school at the Annual Meeting, 1912, 
and voted to transport the children of the district to neighbor- 
ing schools. 

Chippewa County. District No. 9, Tilden, and District No. 8, 
Cleveland, have closed their schools and are sending the children 
to neighboring schools. Transportation arranged for. 

Clark County. The Columbia school is the result of the con- 
solidation effected some years ago. Two districts were joined 
and the district now comprises 36 square miles. Four rigs are 
used to transport ' the children. 

Dane County. District No. 3, Rutland, has closed its school 
for a number of years and its children are transported to the 
village of Brooklyn. One rig is used. 

District No. 6, town of Springfield, has closed its school. The 
pupils are transported to district No. 2 Middleton. One rig is 
used. 

Dodge County. District No. 17, town of Fox Lake, has closed 
its school and provided transportation of its children to neigh- 
boring districts. 

District No. 12, town of Lowell, has made a similar arrange- 
ment, as has also district No. 13 town of Beaver Dam. 

In most cases arrangements are made with the parents to 
transport children. 

Door County. District No. 2, town of Egg Harbor, was dis- 
solved and territory given to districts No. 1. 4 and 3. 

District No. 1 and district No. 4, town of Brussels, were con- 
solidated. 



40 Consolidation of School Districts. 

Douglas County. The following schools have been closed 
temporarily : 

District No. 4, town of Gordon, District No. 3, town of 
Brule, district No. 1, town of Hawthorne. One rig is used in 
each case to transport children to other districts. 

The following districts furnish transportation to pupils in 
their own districts: 

District No. 1, town of Bennett, district No. 1, town of Brule, 
district No. 1, Solon Springs, district No. 1, Superior. One rig 
in used in each case. 

Dunn County. In joint district No. 2, town of Elk Mound, 
and the village of Elk Mound three rigs are used to transport 
children to the school in the home district. One district 
has voted to close and transport its pupils to another sch:ol. 

Florence County. District No. 2 town of Commonwealth has 
closed its school. 

District No. 1, Commonwealth, uses one rig to transport chil- 
dren to their own school. 

District No. 1, Florence, transports children to the village 
school. Two rigs are used. 

Fond d>u Lac County. District No. 3, Osceola, has closed its 
school temporarily. Three pupils are attending school in other 
districts. 

District No. 10, joint Fond du Lac and Friendship, has closed 
its school temporarily and five pupils are attending in other 
districts. 

Forest County. There was originally at North Crandon a 
two-department school. In other parts of the town were three 
other schools, each having one room. In 1905 the present build- 
ing was erected. The three neighboring schools were closed and 
pupils transported to the central school. Last year (1911-12; 
four wagons were used. 

One rig is used in transporting the children to the school 
at Hiles. 

One rig is used in transporting the children to Laona. 

One rig is used in transporting children to Nashville. 
Grant County. Districts 6 and 16, of South Lancaster, have 
been joined and the consolidated district is known as No. 1 South 
Lancaster. 

Districts 3 and 4. Glen Haven, were united in 1912. 



Consolidation of School Districts. 43 

District No. 1 and 2, Beetown, have been formed into one con- 
solidated district. (See pp 8-9). 

District No. 3, town of Hazel Green, has closed its school. The 
pupils are being transported to the village of Hazel Green, 
(p. 12). 

District No. 3, Platteville, has closed its school. The children 
are transported to the city of Platteville. 

District No. 9, Clifton, sends its children to neighboring dis- 
tricts. 

Joint district No. 4, Woodman, last year sent its children to 
No. 1 Woodman. (1911-1912.) 

Iowa County. District No. 9, Linden, and District No. 13 
Mineral Point, furnish transportation. 

Jackson County. Joint district No. 10, town of Springfield, 
was joined with joint district No. 9, of Albion. The new district 
is known as joint district No. 9, of Albion. One team is pro- 
vided to transport part of the pupils. 

Joint district No. 1, Curran, transports it pupils to joint dis- 
trict No. 4, of Hixton. 

District No. 5, Knapp, provides one team for part of its pupils. 

Jefferson County. The children in district No. 3, joint, Sulli- 
van, attend school in neighboring districts. In district No. 9, 
Aztalan, the children are sent to the city of Jefferson. 

Juneau County. District No. 2, Clearfield has closed its 
school. The pupils are sent to Camp Douglas. 

District No. 2, Finley, has closed its school and the children 
attend a neighboring school in another county. 

Lafayette County. District No. 7, town of Shullsburg, has 
closed its school and the pupils attend the school in the city of 
Shullsburg. 

Langlade County. District No. 3, town of Vilas, closed its 
school for two years. It is now reopened. 

District No. 5, town of Elton, has two families living at a 
great distance from school. Each parent is paid a certain sum 
of money to transport his children. 

Lincoln County. Two schools in town of King are closed and 
pupils are transported to another school in same town. 

One school in the town of Tomaha^ is closed and pupils 
transported to graded school in town of Bradley. 

One School (Herman School) in town of Bradley closed and 
children transported to graded school in same town. 



42 Consolidation of School Districts. 

Rigs are employed in each of these cases. 

Arrangements are made with parents to transport their own 
children in many of the outlying portions of districts in the 
county. A small rig is used to transfer part of the children 
living in District No. 2, town of Tomahawk, to the school in 
that district. 

Marathon County. In district No. 5, town of Maine, one rig 
is used to transport children to the school in their home district. 

Marinette County. District No. 3, Niagara, transports chil- 
dren to its home school. 

Same is true in District No. 1 and District No. 5, Porterneld. 

Outagamie County. District No. 7, town of Ellington, was 
consolidated with district No. 4, of the same town several years 
ago. The new district is known as No. 2. No transportation. 

Ozaukee County. District No. 5, Cedarburg, has closed its 
school. The pupils are attending in surrounding districts. 

Pierce County. District No. 10, joint Rock Elm, has closed its 
school. One rig is used to transport the children to No. 11, a 
graded school, of the same town. 

Polk County. District No. 4, Balsam Lake, sends its children 
to 3 adjoining districts. No transportation. 

In District No. 3, joint West Sweden, one rig is used to trans- 
port children to their home district. (Village of Frederic). 

Joint District No. 7, Clear Lake, pays tuition and has one 
rig to transport children to the village graded school at Clear 
Lake. 

Price County. Four districts consolidated in the town of 
Brantwood. One school closed. One wagon used to transport 
children to a new graded school. (See p. 11 ). 

Racine County. Two schools in the county are closed. The 
children walk to neighboring schools. No transportation is 
furnished. 

Each County. District 9, town of Turtle, was divided among 
three other districts several years ago. 

Joint District 14, Bradford & Darien, has had no school several 
vonrs. The few pupils <xo to neighboring schools. 

District 3, town of Janesville, has had no school for many 
years. Children go to most convenient schools. Two other 
schools not far off. 



Consolidation op School Districts. 43 

District 10, town of Union, closed school several years ago. 
Two other schools near and scholars few. 

District 2, town of Union, transports 26 children to Brooklyn 
at cost of $430 dollars for transportation and $130.38 for 
tuition. 

This last district is the only one in the county paying any 
transportation. They have kept this up for a good many years. 

Rusk County. Transportation has been provided in the 
following districts: No. 1 Dewey, No. 1 Lawrence, No. 1 Mar- 
shall, No. 1 Hawkins. 

St. Croix County. No. 5, Stanton, has been closed. Children 
are transported to village of Star Prairie. 

The school in District No. 1 has been closed and the children 
attend the Roberts school. 

One rig is used by District No. 5, joint Star Prairie, to trans- 
port children to its own school. 

The school in District No. 4, town of "Warren, has been closed. 
Children are attending school at Roberts. 

The school in District No. 5, town of Richmond, has been 
closed and are transported to the City of New Richmond. 

The school in District No. 8, town of Hammond has been 
closed and children are attending school at Hammond. 

The school in District No. 4, town of Troy, has been closed 
and children are attending school at River Falls. 

Sauk County. District No. 7, town of Baraboo ; transports its 
children to one of the ward schools in Baraboo. 

Taylor County. District No. 3, Deer Creek, has closed its 
school. 

Vilas County. Eagle River has six rigs from the outlying 
country although four country schools are maintained. Farm- 
ington runs three transportation rigs ; Conover, one. 

Walworth County. District No. 2 and district No. 4, of the 
town of Linn, have been formed into one district. The district 
maintains a state graded school at Zenda. (See p. 11, Fig. 6). 

Districts No. 4 and 6, town of Darien, have closed and pupils 
attend school at Darien and Allen Grove. No. 6 has opened its 
school again this year with thirteen pupils (1912-13). 

Delevan city uses two rigs to transport pupils to its own 
school five months of the year. The district comprises nearly 
half of the town. 



44 Consolidation of School Districts. 

Washburn County. The Shell Lake District provides two 
teams and pays $426 for transportation of children in outlying 
parts of their joint district. By so doing they avoid the necessity 
of providing extra schools. 

District No. 1, Minong, paid $86.90 for transportation. 

Washington County. District No. 3, and 4, town of Jackson, 
are furnishing partial transportation for their children. 

Waupaca County. No. 3, and 6, town of Weyauwega, have 
been closed. Pupils attend in the village of Weyauwega. 

One rig is used to transport children to the school in the 
school in the village of Iola. 

Waushara County. A district in the eastern part of the county 
uses one rig to transport part of the children to its own school, 

Winnebago County. A school near the village of Omro, has 
been closed and the pupils are being transported to Omro. 

In the following counties there have been no cases of consol- 
idation; neither is there any transportation furnished at pub- 
lic expense: 

Columbia, Crawford, Eau Claire, Green, Green Lake, Iron, 
Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Manitowoc, Marquette, Milwau- 
kee, Monroe, Oconto, Pepin, Portage, Shawano, Sheboygan, 
Trempealeau, Vernon, Waukesha, and "Wood. 

There have been three instances in the state where districts 
have been dissolved and the territory joined to adjoining dis- 
tricts. 



Consolidation of School Districts. 45 



CHAPTER IV. 

CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS IN OTHER 
STATES. 



From Mr. George W. Knorr's bulletin formerly referred to, 

we quote the following: , • 

"Successful operation in 32 States furnishes ample evidence that 
geographically — which, in connection with this subject, relates 
chiefly to climate — there are no serious obstacles in the way of a 
much greater extension of the system. Consolidation is as success- 
ful in Idaho and North Dakota as in Florida, and serves the needs 
of the rural population of Louisiana as efficiently as that of Indiana 
and of Maine. The success of consolidation in sparsely settled sec- 
tions of North Dakota and Florida tends to dispel the popular mis- 
conception that it is practicable only in densely inhabited territory. 
It is significant that, in the course of this investigation, not one 
case of the abandonment of a completely consolidated school was 
found. Two cases were observed where partially consolidated schools 
were abandoned after trial and a return made to the old system. 
Investigation disclosed that in both cases dissatisfaction was due to 
incompetent management of the transportation service. It may be 
laid down as a law that the success of a consolidated school depends 
largely upon the thoroughness and ease with which the conveyance 
department is managed. Free conveyance remedies very largely 
the dropping out of pupils before completing the eight primary 
grades, so common and so deplorable a condition in the district 
schools. The fact that under consolidation twice as many children 
in a community complete the eight grades as under the district- 
school plan is of immense educational and economic importance to 
State and nation. There results a direct contribution to national 
thrift through added industrial efficiency, greater intelligence, wider 
information, and higher citizenship." 

In order to give the people of Wisconsin some information 
regarding the progress of consolidation in other states, the fol- 
lowing summaries are given: 

COLORADO. 

"While unfortunately not a great deal has been accomplished, a 
few schools of this type are in successful operation. The first case 
of consolidation known to the writer occurred at Fountain, El Paso 
County, a decade or more ago. This school is still being conducted 
on this plan with free transportation of children from the out-lying 



46 Consolidation of School Districts. 



districts. More recently consolidated schools have been established 
in the Unity District, at Vineland and at Rye, Pueblo County, and at 
Loma, Messa County. * * * 

Many parts of Colorado offer especially good opportunities for 
consolidation, and the movement should receive the sympathetic and 
hearty co-operation of all who have at heart the welfare of our rural 
schools. We do not have to encounter nearly such serious obstacles 
in the way of extremes of climate and bad roads as are to be found 
in a number of states where consolidation has made greater pro- 
gress." — Colorado Bulletin. 

CONNECTICUT. 

From the report of the State Superintendent for 1910-11 we 
quote the following : 

"The reduction of population by reason of small families and the 
drift to the cities has brought it about that schools which enrolled 
50 to 80 children fifty years ago have dwindled down to 5 or 10. 
The parallel reduction in taxable property has produced a financial, 
side by side with an educational, difficulty. 

Consolidation has not proceeded systematically in this state. There 
are five towns in which there is one school. * * * During the 
last year 2,292 children have been transported at the expense of 
$46,280.02, and 79 schools have been closed. 

Notably the town of Washington has within the last year united 
its schools, so that now there are but two school houses to which 
children are transported. 

Three methods of paying for transportation are: 

(1) Payment is made to parents, who determine the method 
of conveyance. This is not satisfactory. 

(2) Trolleys or regular conveyances like stages are brought 
into service. 

(3) The most common method is the school wagons. 

The contract is awarded annually to a suitable person who makes 
the lowest bid. The drivers are sometimes bound by their contracts 
to specific duties. 

The cost varies from ten cents a day per child paid to parents to 
$2.50 per day paid to persons who own the horses and wagons. Some 
towns own the teams. The school committees define the routes. 
The longest route in the state is four miles. Sometimes children 
must .walk to the school route to meet the wagon, but usually the 
children are carried from their doors. 

The expense of transportation economically and safely worked is 
not greater than the expense of continuing many schools. Trans- 
portation of a dozen or more scholars will cost from twelve to eight- 
een dollars a week. The fuel, incidentals and teachers' wages of a 
good school will amount to about the same sum. 
***** 

The testimony of experience is that when the roads are fair, the 
distance not too great, consolidation and transportation mean better 
schools." 

The secretary of the Board of Education in a personal letter 

adds the following significant paragraph: 

"We find that good organization and good teaching are more im- 
portant than consolidation. Accordingly our main effort is not di- 
rected to consolidation." 



Consolidation of School Districts. 47 

This statement again reinforces what has been previously 
said in this bulletin, namely, that there are other phases of the 
rural school problem besides that of consolidation. 

DELAWARE. 

The following letter was received from Hon. Theo. Town- 
send : 

"Replying to your request for information along the lines of con- 
solidation of schools I will say that 

Delaware has not yet made any laws to compel the consolidation 
of rural schools but we have a law which permits two or more dis- 
tricts to meet and vote upon the question, 'Shall the district be 
united with another district, etc' 

Under this law several districts have united, and the result has 
been satisfactory to each district interested. 

None of these united districts have made provision for hauling 
the pupils to and from the consolidated schools, but we are working 
upon a measure to present to the next session of our legislature, 
which will make general laws to carry rural consolidation into effect, 
and also have the children delivered and taken back from the 
school." 

IDAHO. 

A letter from Supt. Grace M. Shepherd gives us the follow- 
ing information: 

"We have a number of instances of consolidated schools where 
most excellent work is done, and they are among the best, I believe, in 
the country. The district at Twin Palls, Idaho, is the largest. They 
have recently completed the main part of a new high school building, 
and when the entire building is finished it will be one of the finest 
and best equipped in the state. ***** 

When we consider that the Twin Falls school district was organ- 
ized in 1905, this new building with all its equipment seems like a 
fairy tale. The district has an area of 42 square miles. Seventeen 
wagons bring 325 pupils each day from the homes on the rich farm 
lands. Forty-eight teachers are employed, all of whom are uni- 
versity or normal graduates with several years' experience. 

The school at Jerome, Idaho, is not so large but is rapidly growing 
along the same lines. They have a good brick building containing 
eight rooms, with recitation room and office. At present a three 
years' high school course. Next year will have the four years' 
course. This district has an area of 220 square miles; total enroll- 
ment, 383, with average daily attendance of 339. Eleven wagons 
convey the pupils to and from school. Each driver keeps a complete 
report which is handed to the superintendent at the close of each 
week. At Burley, Idaho, where they have 9 wagons the drivers re- 
port each morning concerning the children taken home the night 
before and the ones brought to school. In no place have they had 
trouble with their drivers rnd in several instances the older boys in 
the high school, who are country lads, are the drivers. 

The children from the rural communities are having the advant- 
ages educationally that would be impossible in a small district. The 



48 Consolidation of School Districts. 

consolidated plan gives them these advantages. We feel that con- 
solidation even though in some places more expensive than a smaller 
school, is a good thing, as it affords an opportunity for a good edu- 
cation." 

INDIANA. 

A somewhat careful study of the subject throughout the 
country leads one to believe that Indiana has done more in con- 
solidation than any other state in the union. The reason that 
this state has been able to accomplish so much is that the coun- 
try school system is based upon the township unit of organiza- 
tion, with one man (the township trustee) in charge of all the 
schools in the township. For example, in a township six miles 
square one usually finds six to eight schools. Instead of eigh- 
teen to twenty-four school officials as in all states in which 
the district system is in vogue, one man looks after the inter- 
ests of all these six or eight schools. He erects the school build- 
ings, keeps them in repair, selects teachers, fixes their sal- 
aries, etc. In fact, he does everything that is done for public 
education in that township. The trustee of the largest town- 
ship in Indiana employs fifty teachers. He keeps all school 
buildings in repair. In Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Michi- 
gan and in fact all of the states in which the district is the unit, 
it would require 150 men to do the work in a township of this 
size. It is much easier for the county and state superinten- 
dents to deal with one man than with 150 men. It will be many 
years before we can have consolidation in Wisconsin so long 
as the district is the unit of our Country School system. 

For a number of years the township trustees in Indiana were 
engaged in organizing township high schools, when in 1908 there 
were almost 1,000 of these schools in the state. The country 
boys and girls attended these high schools from two to four 
years. In the early part of this movement of organizing high 
schools, patrons who sent their children to the township high 
schools requested the trustees to allow them to send their 
younger children in the same conveyances. These requests 
were often granted and the children recited in the grades, 
while their older brothers and sisters recited in the high 
schools. 

This movement grew so rapidly that the enrollment in large 
numbers of the district schools near the high schools was re- 
duced to such an extent that the trustees in many instances 



Consolidation of School Districts. 49 

decided to "abandon" these small schools and transport the 
children to the township high schools. In this way consolida- 
tion began. 

The legislature of 1903 enacted a law providing that when 
two-thirds of the patrons in any district petitioned the town- 
ship trustee for the abandonment of the district school and 
the transportation of the children from such abandoned school 
to the township high school, the trustee was compelled to carry 
out the provisions of the petition. Under this law, several hun- 
dred small schools were abandoned. 

The legislature of 1907 passed an act providing for the dis- 
continuance of all township schools with twelve pupils or 
fewer, and for the transportation of pupils. The act also per- 
mits the abandonment of schools with fifteen or fewer. In all 
cases of abandonment the trustees are required to furnish free 
transportation in sanitary wagons for all pupils from the aban- 
doned schools to the central schools. The drivers of the wag- 
ons are held responsible for the safety and conduct of the 
children to and from the central schools. The following is the 
exact wording of the law : 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the state of 
Indiana, That the township trustees shall discontinue and abandon 
all schools under their charge of which the average daily attendance 
during the last preceding school year has been twelve (12) pupils 
or fewer; and said trustees may discontinue and abandon all schools 
of which the average daily attendance during the last preceding 
school year has been fifteen (15) pupils or fewer; Provided, The 
conditions as to roads, streams and bridges permit of such discon- 
tinuance. 

Section 2. It shall be the duty of the township trustees to provide 
for the education of such pupils as are affected by such or any former 
discontinuance in other schools, and they shall provide and maintain 
means of transportation for all such pupils as live at a greater dis- 
tance than two miles, and for all pupils between the ages of six (6) 
and twelve (12) that live less than two miles and more than one mile 
from the schools to which they may be transferred as a result of such 
discontinuance. Such transportation shall be in comfortable and 
safe conveyances. The drivers of such conveyances shall furnish the 
teams therefor, and shall use every care for the safety of the chil- 
dren under their charge, and shall maintain discipline in such con- 
veyances. Restrictions as to the use of public highways shall not 
apply to such conveyances. The expenses necessitated by the carry- 
ing into effect the provisions of this act shall be paid from the special 
school fund of the township. 

Section 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith are 
hereby repealed. 

This law was the means of closing about 1,200 country schools 
during the first year after its enactment. It eliminated one of the 
obstacles that had stood in the way of equal educational oppor- 
tunities for town and country children. 



50 Consolidation of School Districts. 

In that state, as stated above, the township is the unit of 
the school system. The interests of the township are gener- 
ally common. With strong teachers in the central school, 
capable of taking the initiative in adjusting the school work 
to the needs of the community, etc., it is safe to say that this 
law was a long step in the direction of putting the country 
child upon the same plane with the city child in school ad- 
vantages, and in a good many respects the country child as 
a result of this law has superior advantages. The following 
are the statistics on consolidation in Indiana for the two years 
ending July 31st, 1908. While consolidation has doubtless 
grown a great deal since this report was made, these are the 
last figures available: 

STATISTICS ON CONSOLIDATION. 

A. The Small School. 

1. Number of schools in state with 12 pupils or fewer 350 

2. Number of schools in state with 15 pupils or fewer 739 

3. Number of schools in state with 20 pupils or fewer 1,755 

B. Number of Schools Abandoned. 

1. Number of all schools abandoned prior to the 

opening of schools, September 1, 1907 1,261 

2. Number of schools abandoned between September 

1, 1907, and October 1, 1908 350 

3. Total number of schools abandoned in state 1,611 

C. Consolidated Schools. 

1. Number of schools transported to other district 

schools 533 

2. Number of schools transported to town or city 

schools 598 

3. Number of consolidated graded schools made up 

of two district schools 251 

4. Number of consolidated graded schools made up of 

three district schools 65 

5. Number of consolidated graded schools made up 

of four district s ;hools 25 

6. Number of consolidated graded schools made up 

more than four district schools 4 5 

D. State how many of the above include high school work. 

1. Number of consolidated schools providing one year 

high school work 19 

2. Number of consolidated schools providing two 

years high school work 52 

3. Number of consolidated schools providing three 

years high school work Ill 

4. Number of consolidated schools providing four 

years' high school work 122 



Consolidation op School Districts. 51 

E. Transportation in County. 

1. Number of children transported 19,109 

2. Number of wagons used in transporting children 1,116 

3. Cost per wagon per day $2.07 

4. Total cost of all wagons per day $2,304.50 

5. Number of pupils transported in private convey- 

ances 2,409 

6. Number of children transported by interurban 

cars 458 

7. Number of children transported by steam cars. . 47 

F. Number of Children Transferred for School Purposes. 

1. Number transferred for grade work in cities and 

towns 7,244 

2. Number transferred for high school work in cities 

and towns 5,815 

3. Total number transferred 13,059 

The people in Indiana are pleased with consolidation. Very 
few of them ever petition the school officials to return to the 
old district school system. Consolidation has brought longer 
terms, a better graded system, better equipment, better quali- 
fied teachers, high school privileges for the country children, 
and work in Agriculture and Domestic Science. Splendid san- 
itary buildings have been erected in hundreds of country com- 
munities. The country children therefore enjoy just as good 
advantages in every way, as the children in the city enjoy. 
Consolidation has tended to bring about equal opportunity to 
all the children in that state. 

IOWA. 

The Iowa Educational Directory for the school year 1911-12 
gives the following statistics regarding transportation of pupils 
in that state: 

TRANSPORTATION — SUMMARY OF STATISTICS 

County Superintendents' Reports, June 30, 1911 

Number of corporations receiving pupils from closed 

schools 40 

Total number of schools closed 99 

Number of corporations in which pupils are transported 

at public expense 27 

Number employing hacks 25 

Number of hacks employed 75 

Amount paid for transportation in hacks $24,805.98 

Average paid for each hack $330.75 

Number of pupils transported in hacks 1,159 

Average cost per pupil $21.40 



52 Consolidation of School Districts. 

Number of pupils providing self-transportation at public 

expense 32 

Amount paid for same $480.00 

Average per pupil $15.00 

Number providing self-transportation without expense to 

district 333 

Total number transported by districts 1,191 

Total paid for transportation $25,433.98 

Average cost per pupil transported at public expense $21.35 



KANSAS. 

A bulletin of information regarding the consolidation of rural 
schools was issued by Supt. E. T. Fairchild in 1908. From this 
bulletin we quote the following: 

"The first school of this type was established in this state in 
1898, although the preparatory steps were taken in 1896, a special 
law provided in 189 7, and the schools of Green Garden township, 
Ellsworth County consolidated in 1898. 

"Since then the movement has developed in this state until, in 
1907, some twenty counties have consolidated schools, numbering in 
all 27 schools. In addition to that number 130 school districts dis- 
continued their schools and transported their pupils to other dis- 
tricts. 

"While those schools that were discontinued do not come under 
the law for consolidation, the effect has been the same. It is hoped 
that the plan of discontinuing the smaller schools and sending the 
pupils to other schools will be adopted quite largely. The natural 
result would be the disorganization of the small districts and consoli- 
dation to form strong schools. 

"Quite a number of large, strong, consolidated districts are now 
in process of formation. However, not enough schools of this type 
have been established in the state to offer the proper object-lesson. 
While the consolidation of two districts is an improvement, the full 
result and benefits are not reached short of the formation of large 
consolidated schools of three or more teachers." 

The bulletin contains facts regarding several consoli- 
dated schools in the state including a comparison of the old 
schools with the new. 

The following letter from Supt. Fairchild, dated Sept. 23, 
1912, gives the latest information regarding the consolidation in 
Kansas : 

"I do not know of any special word that I have to add to our latest 
published report of the progress of consolidation in Kansas. How- 
ever, I submit the following in the hope that it may be of some 
slight service: 

"Over 6,000 children are now attending the consolidated schools 
in Kansas. In a great majority of these schools a certain amount 
of high school work is being done, in some cases four years work 
being carried. Wherever established consolidation has proved a 
complete success. Patrons are satisfied and the results in increased 



Consolidation of School Districts. 53 

attendance, in enlarged opportunity for the pupils and in the neigh- 
borhood interest have more than justified expectations. 

"Here as in other places the progress has been rather slow. Then, 
too, the force of tradition and custom forms a strong obstacle in the 
way of the rapid formation of consolidated schools. However, where- 
ever these changes have taken place the patrons are enthusiastic 
supporters of the plan. I know of no solution of the rural school 
problem that promises so well and so much as that of consolidation." 



KENTUCKY. 

Supt. Barksdale Hamlett gives the following information re- 
garding consolidation in that state: 

"The Legislature of this state which adjourned during the month 
of March, enacted a law providing for funds for transportation and 
consolidation of schools. There is considerable agitation in the 
state at present concerning this question and I am anxious to secure 
all possible information." 

MAINE. 

The following statistics published by the State Superintendent 

in 1908, show the extent of the movement in that state : 

Amount spent for the conveyance of children $94,683.73 

Number of pupils conveyed 5,613 

Average cost per pupil $16.86 

Number of pupils conveyed from discontinued schools. 4,092 
Number of pupils boarded near or conveyed to one-room 

schools 3,548 

Number of pupils boarded near or conveyed to graded 

schools 2,195 

Number of abandoned one-room school buildings 616 

Number of occupied one-room schools 2,398 

Minimum number to which one-room schools could be 

reduced ( 2,080 

Number of schools having average attendance of less 

than 8 continued by vote of town 206 

According to the report there are instances where the children 
are boarded at public expense. The report shows that during 
the school year of 1907-08 there were 130 pupils boarded at a 
total cost of $2231.02, the average per pupil being $17.16. 



MASSACHUSETTS. 

Massachusetts led the way in the development of the district 
school system, and it was also the first state to attempt the con- 
solidation of schools. As early as 1869 Massachusetts passed a 
law which provided for the transportation of pupils to and from 



54 Consolidation of School Districts. 

schools at public cost. In 1857 consolidation was complete in 
one township ; since that time, the movement lias spread through- 
out Massachusetts, thence to the neighboring states, and on 
from state to state until at the present time consolidation is be- 
ing considered by every state in the union. 

EXPENDITURES FOR TRANSPORTATION OP SCHOOL CHIL- 
DREN IN MASSACHUSETTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 1898-1911. 

1898-99 $127,409.22 

1899-00 141,753.80 

1900-01 151,773.47 

1901-02 165,596.91 

1902-03 178,297.64 

1903-04 194,967.35 

1904-05 213,220.93 

1905-06 236,415.40 

1906-07 252,451.11 

1907-08 265,574.09 

1908-09 292,213.33 

1909-10 310,422.15 

1910-11 329,857.13 



MINNESOTA. 

A letter was written to Rural School Commissioner E. M. 

Phillips, in which the following questions were asked : 

"1. In general what progress has been made in the matter of con- 
solidation among the rural schools in Minnesota? 

2. What legislation has been enacted in Minnesota recently that 
has helped the matter of consolidation? 

3. From your observation what has been the success regarding 
the transportation of children? 

4. Have there been any rules and regulations by the state depart- 
ment regarding the matter of transportation? 

5. As a rule how long are the routes and how long does it take 
to drive this distance? 

6. Have you found any opposition to the plan on the part of the 
parents? 

7. What has been the effect on the attendance? 

8. Has the state made any specifications regarding transportation 
wagons? 

9. As a rule how are the children protected against the cold? 
How are the wagons heated? 

10. In general what is paid the drivers? Do the drivers furnish 
the wagons? 

11. What other information have you that you think will be of 
value to our Wisconsin readers? Also give any suggestions you may 
think of regarding difficulties that you have encountered because of 
imperfect laws." 

Inasmuch as conditions in Minnesota are very much the same 
as those in our own state, the information given in the reply to 



Consolidation of School Districts. 55 

these questions is especially valuable. The following letter was 
received from Commissioner Phillips: 

"I am glad to reply to yours of July 1st and I trust that the in- 
formation may be of use to you. I may beg the privilege of imposing 
upon you for information sometime before our biennial report is 
made up. 

First — Since the passage of the Holmberg act, April 1, 1911, there 
have been effected about 50 consolidations in Minnesota, varying in 
number from two to eight districts apiece. During the previous 
eleven years, under the old law, only 9 consolidations had been 
effected, altogether. 

Second — The Holmberg act, is the consolidated school law for 
Minnesota. You will notice the aid features provided for by this 
law, and the inducement offered to districts to consolidate because 
of it. I send you, in this connection, a copy of the rules and regula- 
tions, showing that the requirements for schools of this kind are as 
high as for the best high and graded schools in the state. 

Third — I made quite an extensive investigation of the transporta- 
tion problem this spring, interviewing many farmers at their homes. 
As a result of this I may say, briefly, that I found no case where 
children had suffered in safety or comfort through transportation, 
this year. I found some flaws in the handling of the problem, but no 
difficulties which could not be readily remedied and which will be 
cared for the ensuing year. May I add that we have all possible 
conditions, favorable and unfavorable, for the transportation of 
children in the districts undertaking this work in Minnesota this 
year. 

Fourth — The only regulation of the State department regarding 
the transportation is the establishing of a standard conveyance for 
this purpose. I enclose herewith the specifications for this van. In 
addition to this, the Department has ruled that no children shall be 
transported over six miles, and strongly recommends that no pro- 
ject be undertaken where any child must be carried over five miles. 

Fifth — We have no routes over six miles long, and very few of 
those. The average length of route is a trifle over four miles. The 
reports show that during the worst roads the wagons drive about 
four and a half miles an hour, when the roads are in good condition 
about five and a half miles an hour. 

Sixth — Nearly all of the opposition to transportation on the part 
of the parents preceded a trial of the plan. Generally speaking, I 
found that opposition which existed previous to consolidation has 
entirely disappeared after a year's trial. 

Seventh — Attendance has been measurably improved. In some 
cases from 70 per cent, to 94 per cent., although the average would 
not be so high as that — probably from 80 to 90. 

Eighth — I have stated above that I am sending you a copy of our 
specifications for conveyance. 

Ninth — The wagons are very warmly built, and in addition to this, 
we are strongly recommending the use of charcoal foot warmers, 
although this is not as yet required. In some places oilstoves and 
in others airtight sheet-iron stoves have been tried, but these are 
generally considered a source of danger to the children. 

Tenth — The lowest salary paid to a driver is $15 a month. This 
has been paid this past year to a boy driver, but the practice will 
not be sanctioned by this Department. The highest salary paid is 
in the northern part of the state, where team hire is extremely high. 
On one route $75 per month was paid. The average for the state 
this year is a little less than $45 per month. The drivers in no cases 
furnish the wagon. This is the property of the district. 



56 Consolidation of School Districts. 



Eleventh — I have very little complaint to make of the Holmberg 
law in operation. There are some very minor points in it that need 
changing, for the sake of clearness. Otherwise I believe we have 
hit upon an excellent plan for the encouraging of the conbination of 
one-room schools into central schools of from two to twenty rooms. 

Sincerely yours, 

E. M. PHILLIPS, 
Rural School Commissioner. 



MISSOURI. 

From a bulletin issued by the University of Missouri we 

quote the following: 

"A number of attempts at consolidation have been made in this 
state. According to the 1910 report of the State Superintendent of 
Public Schools, there are eighteen consolidated districts. These dis- 
tricts are located in ten different counties of the state. Some have 
consolidated for high school purposes only, while others have con- 
solidated their grade schools." 

A more detailed account of some of the particular schools is 

also given, after which the bulletin continues as follows: 

"Thus we see that Missouri has both kinds of consolidated schools, 
i. e., consolidated schools for high school purposes only, as in Jack- 
son County, consolidated schools for grade school purposes, as in 
Dade County, or for doing both grade and high school work, as in 
Clifton Hill in Randolph County." 

MONTANA. 

The following letter was received from Supt. W. E. Harmon: 

"Replying to your favor of May 1st we will state that the consoli- 
dation of schools in this state is practically new. We have some 
schools that have consolidated, and we expect a great many more to 
consolidate next year. We have no literature on consolidation that 
we can send you. We send you however, copy of our bill providing 
for consolidation." 

The law referred to, which provides for the payment of public 
money for the transportation of pupils, was enacted in 1911. 



NEW YORK. 

The following letter was received from Hon. Frank B. Gilbert: 

"I have your letter of the 6th. It would be impossible for me to 
give you any definite information as to the number of schools 
that have been consolidated in the state of New York. Consolida- 
tion is usually brought about prior to the establishment of union 
free school districts. Union free school districts are those in which 
secondary schools are maintained. These districts have been in ex- 
istence in this state for a number of years. Our records in respect 
to these districts were destroyed in the Capitol fire. Papers estab- 



Consolidation of School Districts. 57 



lishing union free school districts are required to be filed in the of- 
fice of the Department. Where common school districts are con- 
solidated the orders of consolidation are filed in the town clerk's of- 
fice and the Department has no record of the consolidation." 



NEBRASKA. 

A bulletin dealing with the subject of consolidation was 
published by the department of public instruction in 1910. This 
bulletin gives a description of one of the consolidated schools of 
the state, and gives information regarding consolidation and 
transportation in various parts of Nebraska. The following 
letter from Supt. James E. Delzell shows the status of the con- 
solidation movement at the present time: 

"But little has been done in the state of Nebraska since the con- 
solidation bulletin- was printed on account of a defect in the law. 
About the time the consolidation bulletin was published several 
schools in this state were consolidated and they agreed to transport 
their pupils free of charge. However, after the consolidation was 
completed at the next annual meeting they could not get the re- 
quired two-thirds vote to permit the school board to pay for the 
transportation of pupils residing in the remote parts of the district; 
hence, very few schools have been consolidated since that time. I 
am sorry we are not able to give you definite statements in regard 
to this matter. We hope to have the law modified at the next ses- 
sion of the legislature so schools may be consolidated and children 
receive the benefits therefrom." 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

North Carolina has just published a most excellent bulletin 
on the subject of consolidation of schools. The bulletin has 
been prepared by L. C. Brogden, State Supervisor of rural 
elementary schools, and gives a thorough discussion of the 
whole subject. The following extracts from this bulletin indi- 
cate the progress of the movement in the state : 

"Consolidation of schools is not a new thing in North Carolina. 
Hundreds of small school districts have given way within the last 
ten years to larger ones. The work of consolidation is still going 
on in some counties, but at a slower rate generally, perhaps, than at 
any time within these ten years. Consolidation of districts has pos- 
sibly not kept pace with some other phases of our educational pro- 
gress because it was necessarily limited to reasonable walking dis- 
tance from the school house until the amendment of the school law in 
1911 provided specifically for transportation of pupils. 

Public transportation of pupils is a new undertaking among us. 
With the exception of a few wagons operated in Wake, Cumberland 
and Rockingham counties last year, it has not been undertaken, so 
far as I am informed. The last General Assembly, in recognition of 
the successful experience of other states in transporting a large num- 



58 Consolidation of School Districts. 

ber of their children at public expense, made provision for counties 
in this state, in which conditions are favorable therefor, to under- 
take this work." 

After discussing the union school of North Carolina which 

is a school resulting from the union of two or three districts 

the following statement is made : 

"During the past ten years this type of school has absorbed practi- 
cally twelve hundred small and unsatisfactory one-teacher schools 
in this state. But even the formation of this simplest type of con- 
solidation has by no means been pushed to the fullest extent. Ap- 
proximately seventy-five per cent of all the rural schools of the state 
are yet one-teacher schools, a large number of which are inefficient 
and might, without much difficulty be transformed into consolidated 
schools." 

Another extract from the same bulletin is given on p. 23. 



NORTH DAKOTA. 

A reprint from the Quarterly Journal of the University of 
North Dakota (July, 1912) gives information regarding the 
consolidation movement in that state. From this publication 
the following quotations are made: 

"The movement for consolidation is comparatively new in North 
Dakota. Our oldest consolidated schools were formed only nine or 
ten years ago. The first time the North Dakota Educational Asso- 
ciation went on record with a resolution in favor of this change in 
our common school system was the Grand Forks meeting in Decem- 
ber, 1905. Our attitude toward the question has not even yet ad- 
vanced very far beyond the vacillating stage. While the majority of 
our school men advocate the movement, it is generally done only in 
an academic manner, and very few of them make an earnest effort 
for concrete results even when they have the opportunity. What 
may be accomplished in the space of seven or eight years when an 
active superintendent champions the cause may be seen in the coun- 
ties of Rolette, Ramsey, McHenry, Cavalier, and perhaps a few others. 

"Our policy upon the subject as embodied in our school laws still 
lacks comprehensiveness and consistency. We touch the problem 
only in spots, and continue in full force the oppositive movement, 
namely the establishment of more schools of the old type. * * * 

"Chapter 35 of the General School Laws of 1911, granting state 
aid to consolidated schools, provides that "A Consolidated School, 
within the meaning of this act shall be one organized in accordance 
with section 832 of the revised Codes of 1905." This section reads 
as follows: "The district board may call, and, if petitioned by one- 
third of the voters of the district, shall call an election to determine 
the question of conveying pupils at the expense of said district to 
and from schools already established, or of consolidating two or 
more schools, and of selecting a site and erecting a suitable building, 
or of making suitable additions to buildings already erected to ac- 
commodate the pupils of schools to be vacated. A majority of the 
votes cast at such election decides the question affirmatively, and it 
then becomes incumbent on the board to make all necessary arrange- 
ments to carry out the decision of the district. 

"There are ninety-five schools in the state that have been formed 
by combining two or more schools into one, or that transport pupils 



Consolidation of School Districts. 59 

at public expense, and where at least one of these features has been 
adopted by popular vote as here provided. These are the schools 
that are recognized in law as consolidated schools. 

"There are 274 schools in the state where pupils are transported 
at public expense in accordance with the provisions of this clause. 
Fifty-nine of them are often called "Consolidated" schools, as in the 
case of Lakota and McVille in Nelson County, the former paying 
$709 for the transportation of pupils last year. These and many 
others serve a larger territory and more pupils than certain other 
schools where people have taken a formal vote and that are recog- 
nized in law as the only genuine article in the way of consolidation. 
* .* * 

"The transportation of pupils to the central school presents the 
greatest problem in connection with our subject. In all cases, the 
children residing more than a reasonable distance from the school 
must be transported by proper conveyance and returned to their 
homes at the end of the session in the same manner. This usually 
entails a large item of expense which is at once objected to by those 
who favor the continuance of the old system. However, when we 
consider how very small most of our schools are, and how inefficient, 
it may well be claimed that they are even more expensive and cer- 
tainly far more wasteful than the new type. 

"There are many methods of dealing with the transportation prob- 
lem that prevail in the state, and we shall treat them very briefly 
under two heads: 

1. Public Transportation. Pupils are transported by public con- 
veyance, usually a covered bus, at the expense of the district. It 
generally requires four or five rigs for a fairly well settled town- 
ship, and the payment ranges from $25 to $60 a month for each. A 
good illustration of this system is found in Logan Center, Grand 
Porks County, where five busses are employed at a cost of $40 a 
month for each. In Logan Center and many other cases the busses 
are owned by the districts and only the drivers and horses are hired, 
but in still other instances the wagons as well as the horses are fur- 
nished by the drivers. 

2. Family Transportation. Parents are made responsible for the 
transportation of pupils, and may be paid by the district or not. 
Family transportation is practiced in North Dakota under four forms, 
namely: 

(a) All pupils in the district receive a fixt amount for each day's 
attendance ranging from ten cents a day in some districts to twenty- 
five cents in others." 

(b) The allowance for transportation is graduated according to 
distance from school and varies from five cents to twenty-five cents 
per pupil for each day's attendance." 

(c) In some districts the parents that live very far from the school 
are paid a stipulated sum for all the children in the family. In the 
Sheldon district, Ransom County, one family is paid $5 per month 
and another is paid $2, and all others bring their children free of 
charge." * 

(d) All parents transport their children free of charge to the dis- 
trict. This is, no doubt, done in many districts and it is now the 
practice in the Webster School, of which Superintendent J. C. West 
writes as follows: "We do not pay people for having their chil- 
dren educated. The merchant does not pay patrons living more than 
two miles away to come in. If their farms are far from school it 
is unfortunate, the same as if they are far from the elevator. Be- 
sides, there are no farmers who do not have an idle horse that can 
be put to this use with very little expense to them', but a system of 
pay increases taxes greatly. These are the arguments we use and 



GO Consolidation of School Districts. 



they have worked, but they would not work everywhere. We at 
first ran busses at public expense also, and if any person now insisted 
on enforcing the law (a poor one) and would not listen to reason, we 
would pay him." 

Although there may be objections to any and all of these methods 
of transportation, it is plain that the difficulties can be overcome, 
and that they will be met successfully by all except those who fail 
to recognize the short comings of the present type of school." 



OHIO. 

The State School Commissioner of Ohio says that the educa- 
tional people of the state, as well as the citizens, are greatly 
interested in the subject of consolidation, and they are work- 
ing with a view to securing state-wide consolidation of schools. 
In Ohio, the term "centralized" school is generally used. The 
first centralized school was established in 1892. Since that 
time, the General Assembly of Ohio has passed a number of 
measures designed to secure centralization or consolidation of 
schools in the state. There are now about two hundred such 
schools. The aim of the laws in Ohio is to secure for pupils of 
the country schools as good educational equipment, course of 
study, and efficient teachers as are found in the village or city 
schools. 

Experience in many of the townships in Ohio has shoAvn that 
under the plan of centralization or consolidation the per capita 
expense on the basis of enrollment and of daily attendance has 
decreased. In Madison Township in Lake County, the de- 
crease was from $16.00 to $10.50 on the basis of enrollment, 
and on the basis of average daily attendance the decrease was 
from $26.66 to $16.07. The total expense has remained about 
the same as under the former system, which means that more 
children in the township are attending school now under the 
centralized plan than did formerly under the district school 
plan. The experience in other townships appears to be much 
the same as that in Madison Township. The conclusion reached 
by those who have investigated the matter is that the same 
money goes farther in producing an educated citizen under the 
new than under the old plan. 

Professor Graham, of the State University of Ohio, who has 
been studying centralized schools, has made inquiry among the 
citizens of the state regarding their attitude toward centraliza- 
tion. These inquiries with the responses cannot fail to be of 



Consolidation of School Districts. 61 

interest to the people of Wisconsin, and some of them are given 
herewith. 

How does the driver announce his coming?" "By blowing a horn," 
"Blows a whistle," "Halloos," "Doesn't announce his coming; chil- 
dren learn about his regular time of coming." 

Does your child stand and wait for the wagon? Every reply so 
far is, "No." 

Is it necessary to clothe your child as heavily for the winter trips 
as under the old plan? Seventy-five per cent answer "No." Fifteen 
per cent, "No difference," ten per cent, "Yes." 

Does your child attend school more regularly than under the old 
plan? Eighty per cent answer "Yes," twenty per cent "See no dif- 
ference." 

Does your child show an increase in its interest above what it was 
under the old plan? Ninety per cent answer "Yes," ten per cent, 
"No." 

Do your teachers show an increased interest? Ninety-five per 
cent answer "Yes." Five per cent answer, "No" and, "Notice no 
difference." 

If it takes more time under the new plan than under the old plan, 
is it compensated for by better work? Eighty-five per cent answer 
"Yes," fifteen per cent answer "Can't say" and "No. 

What effect has centralized or consolidated schools on the social 
and educational interests of the township? Most who answered said 
that there has been great improvement. One replied, "In the be- 
ginning it stirred up a great deal of trouble, but everything going 
along nicely now." A few replied, "No improvement; has not been 
established long enough to tell what it will do." 

Did you object to centralizing or consolidating the schools? If 
so, what were your objections? Some answered, "I objected to the 
increase in taxes." "The route was too long." 

In the main do you feel favorable toward centralized or consoli- 
dated schools today? Seventy-five per cent of those answering that 
they at first objected answered this question by saying "Yes." Some 
on the end of the longest routes answered "No." 

OKLAHOMA. 

In this new state there are several consolidated schools. A 

bulletin issued by Supt. Wilson gives some useful information 

regarding the process of the movement in this state. The 

publication has also some excellent suggestions concisely written 

in favor of consolidation. Detailed information concerning some 

of the consolidated schools is given. The following paragraph 

summarizes the points made : 

"We have instituted a searching inquiry into the consolidated 
schools of Oklahoma, directing our inquiries to the superintendents 
of the counties and to the principals of the consolidated schools. Our 
questions covered not only the matter of cost, but the subjects of 
enrollment, attendance, transportation, efficiency, and the sentiment 
of the community toward the new system. With reference to the 
last named point, it may be said, in passing, that every report un- 
equivocally asserted that the community would be unwilling to re- 
turn to the old system." 



62 Consolidation of School Districts. 

Regarding the cost under the system of consolidation the 
following paragraph from the same bulletin contains some 
valuable information. 

"The cost of the new system, as compared with the old, is the 
most difficult problem to deal with when the question of consolida- 
tion is broached. There are two ways of looking at it; the actual 
cost of maintaining the consolidated school, as compared with the 
actual cost of maintaining the schools which have been consolidated; 
and the cost of schooling for each pupil per day's attendance under 
consolidation, compared with the similar cost under the old system. 
We shall hereafter refer to this last as the per capita cost. 

Briefly, it may be said that in Oklahoma experience has shown 
that the actual cost under consolidation is somewhat greater than 
under the old system, and that the per capita cost is materially 
less. In some parts of the United States it has been found that even 
the actual cost under consolidation is somewhat less; but this occurs 
where the rural schools have a very small enrollment and where the 
number of teachers may be reduced under consolidation. In Okla- 
homa the enrollment in the rural schools is relatively large, and it is 
impossible under consolidation materially to reduce the number of 
teachers, especially since consolidation invariably results in stimu- 
lating and enlarging the attendance. We believe the following is a 
conservative statement of the cost of maintaining a consolidated 
school of four rooms, including transportation of pupils. It is made 
on a basis of one hundred and fifty pupils. 

Per Month. 

One principal $75.00 

Three teachers 150.00 

Five wagons 175.00 

One janitor 25.00 

Fuel and incidentals 20.00 



Cost per month $445.00 

For seven months 3,115.00 

Less per cap. fund from state 225.00 



$2,890.00 
This, counting the interest on the net investment of the district, 
would represent approximately a 5 mill levy on a valuation of 
$600,000, or a 10 mill levy on $300,000." 



OREGON. 

The following letter from Mr. A. D. Foster, the superintendent 
of schools in Stevens County, indicates that consolidation is 
making progress in that state. 

"Replying to your inquiry will say that there are eight consolidated 
districts in Stevens county. For the most part these are a consoli- 
dation of two districts, but in two instances there were three districts 
consolidated and in one other four. Some of these districts run as 
many as three vans for transportation of pupils. 

Our principal difficulties in consolidations are distance in trans- 
porting pupils and poor roads. I shall be glad to answer any ques- 
tions you have to ask concerning these consolidated districts." 



Consolidation of School Districts. 63 

State Supt. L. R. Alderman writes as follows: 

"We have several consolidated schools that seem to be prospering. 
The thing we have, however, which appeals to me most is our 
Rural High Schools." 

Note: Supt. Alderman has published a small pamphlet entitled 
"School Industrial Credit for Home Industrial Work." It contains 
some excellent suggestions. 



PENNSYLVANIA. 

From Supt. Nathan C. Shaeffer the following communication 

has been received: 

"I regret that we have no literature on the consolidation of schools 
in the State of Pennsylvania. Our irregular and impassable high- 
ways and our mountainous districts have made consolidation a very 
difficult problem." 



RHODE ISLAND. 

The following letter received from Walter E. Ranger, the 
Commissioner of Public Schools of the state of Rhode Island, in- 
dicates the progress of the movement in Rhode Island: 

"The consolidation of schools in Rhode Island has almost ceased 
to be a problem. It has been carried as nearly as far as possible, 
since only seven per cent, of our children are in rural communities. 
The question is relatively less important in Rhode Island than in 
some other states. We have several good examples of union of 
schools. Several small schools have merged into central schools 
already existing. In a few cases three or four schools have been 
united in a graded school of two rooms. 

There has been no general movement throughout the state in this 
matter. These changes have gradually taken place from year to 
year and no complete statistics have ever been gathered." 



SOUTH DAKOTA. 

The following letter has been received from the state super- 
intendent : 

"Replying to your inquiry of May the 1st, will inform you that 
although we have a number of consolidated schools in South Dakota, 
we do not have any law which facilitates consolidation; on the other 
hand the establishment of consolidated districts is very difficult 
under our laws. There is, however, considerable agitation along 
the line of consolidation of schools in the rural districts, and the 
sentiment seems to be very strong for this kind of school. I have 
no doubt but that we shall be able to secure the enactment of a good 
consolidation law by our next legislature in 1913." 



64 Consolidation of School Districts. 



TENNESSEE. 

From the bulletin issued by the Department of Public Instruc- 
tion we find that: 

"the legislature by an act in 1903 required that the small schools 
should be abolished. Under this act it was estimated that fully 
1,000 small schools in the state were discontinued and the report 
the succeeding year shows a large number of good houses were 
erected. * * * 

"While the act of 1903 did not immediately contemplate consoli- 
dation of schools as now understood — that is, the bringing together 
of many of these small schools by the use of the wagonettes and thus 
establishing a central graded school — it did pave the way for this 
kind of consolidation by educating the people to a better understand- 
ing of the great advantages of a large graded school over a small 
ungraded one, and at the same time brought about opportunity for 
better handling of the public school fund." 



TEXAS. 

From the bulletin issued by the Department of Education we 

quote the following: 

"Transportation of school children at public expense is already 
in operation in this state. In each of the three counties an entire 
school of twenty-five pupils is being transported to a large consoli- 
dated school. Wherever tried it has been found satisfactory in 
every respect. The next twelve months will witness the practice in 
probably more than a dozen counties. 



VIRGINIA. 

The following letter has been received from Supt. J. D. 
Eggleston in reply to an inquiry regarding the progress of the 
consolidation movement in Virginia: 

"Replying to your letter of Oct. 3rd, I am sending you under sepa- 
rate cover a booklet on "The Consolidation of Schools" issued by the 
Department of Public Instruction of North Carolina. 

This gives a good deal of space, as you will see, to the consolida- 
tion movement in Virginia. We have nothing published here, and 
so I can only state to you in general terms, that we have been doing 
a great deal of consolidation for the last five years and the whole 
tendency in the State is to consolidate country schools. The attitude 
of the people has changed radically in regard to consolidation and 
they are getting more and more in favor of it,, even where we can- 
not provide wagons at public expense. 

We have between 250 and 300 wagons furnished by the school 
authorities. This consolidation movement started in 1906. 

I am sorry that we have no specific data except what we might 
dig up from our reports. 

The Bulletin issued by the North Carolina Department will, how- 
ever, show you the success of the movement in this State." 



Consolidation of School Districts. 65 



WASHINGTON. 

The state of Washington has published an excellent bulletin 

on the subject of consolidation of rural schools. The following 

paragraph selected from this bulletin shows that the movement 

has made great progress in this western state. After giving a 

table showing all the consolidated districts in the state, the 

following summary is made : 

"Consolidation has reached 31 of our 38 counties. There is a 
total of 120 consolidated districts in these counties, and 296 old 
districts have been used in the formation of the 120 consolidated 
districts. Even the opponents of consolidation will be obliged to 
admit that this system is assuming quite extensive proportions in 
this your state." 

5 



ui> Consolidation of School Districts. 



CHAPTER V. 

LIMITATIONS TO CONSOLIDATION AND CAUTIONS TO 
BE OBSERVED. 



1. Area of the consolidated district. It has already been 
mentioned that consolidation is impractical in many localities. 
There are places in Wisconsin where consolidation on a large 
scale, at least, cannot be effected. There are other places where 
consolidation may be feasible after the roads have been improved. 

The possible area of a consolidated district will depend largely 
upon local conditions. As a rule the distance children are 
transported should not exceed five miles. In some cases where 
the roads are good, or where only a few children are transported, 
a larger territory may be taken in. 

2. We should not get the idea that consolidation is the remedy 
for all our school difficulties. Consolidation can only make our 
school facilities better by bringing together a larger number 
of children, thus enabling us to manage the schools more effi- 
ciently and economically. The vital force, however, is the 
teacher. Along with the question of consolidation must go 
also the question of training the teachers. Simply to consoli- 
date the districts and get the children together in larger num- 
bers would be to transport the city schools into the country, a 
change which would be very questionable. The people of the 
state must realize that the improvement of their country schools 
depends more than anything else upon the proper training we 
give the people who are to teach in them. 

It is not the intention to discuss this question in its fullness 
here. The training of teachers is another phase of this educa- 
tional problem and needs to be taken up by itself. Refer- 
ence is made to it here, however, in order that people may not 
put undue reliance upon the consolidation movement alone. 



Consolidation of School Districts. 67 

There are also other .phases of the country school problem that 
need to be studied, such as efficient supervision, the courses 
of study, etc. 

3. We sometimes hear the argument advanced that con- 
solidation will lessen school expenditures. In some cases this 
is true. Where several small schools can be combined, the 

number of teachers materially reduced and transportation 
carried on at a reasonable expense, it will cost less under 
the consolidated plan. Where consolidation has been tried 
there have been cases where the cost has been reduced. In 
other cases the cost remains about the same, and sometimes it 
may even be greater. The great question, however, is not the 
reduction in the cost of our schools so much as increasing their 
efficiency. It has been seen that as a result of consolidation 
we can give our children a more thorough training in the fun- 
damental branches, keep them in school longer, and make the 
work more practical. What we really desire in our school in- 
vestments is to get the greatest returns possible from the moneyt 
invested. 

4. When we are consolidating school districts and thus or- 
ganizing schools of several departments we should be care- 
ful not to take the city school as our model. The consolidated 
school should not be planned according to the city ward school. 
The country school should serve the country people. One of 
the arguments given for .consolidation is that better teachers 
can be secured. At present most of the teachers in the graded 
schools are being prepared for their work in the normal 
schools. Thus far very few normal schools have paid any at- 
tention to the special preparation of teachers for schools lo- 
cated in country communities. As the country communities 
are consolidating their schools and thus making it possible to 
secure teachers who have been trained in the normal schools, 
the normal schools themselves should take cognizance of this 
fact, and introduce courses that aim specifically to train their 
graduates for leadership in rural communities. We must not 
forget that the character of the work done in the school de- 
pends almost entirely upon the teacher. 

The people point to the fact that graduates from the grades 
in the city schools are deficient in preparation. This is in 
many cases true and the cause may be attributed both to the 



68 Consolidation of School Districts. 

school and to the home. In the city schools there is a general 
tendency to crowd the children too fast in their studies, and 
thus interfere with the natural development of their mental 
powers. City life easily becomes artificial. In consolidating 
schools we cannot be too careful to conserve the naturalness 
of country life. , 

5. Occasonally the argument is made that country children do 
not need as good schools as they do in the city, for these chil- 
dren are ' ' only going to be farmers. ' ' This attitude, however, is 
disappearing so rapidly that no extended discussion is neces- 
sary to show the need for the best possible school for the 
country child. To deprive a child of an opportunity to develop 
is to thwart the will of the Creator. 

6. When the consolidation question is discussed several 
objections are usually raised. Many of these objections are not 
serious and can be overcome. Some of them are the following: 

a. It is a hardship on the children. In answer to this it 
may be stated that to a great many children it is a hardship 
at the present time. With proper wagons and careful drivers 
the children will have much better care when they are trans- 
ported. 

b. The children need the exercise. This argument does not 
apply to country children. They, as a rule, get all the exercise 
they need. 

c. It is not good for children to be herded together in a bus. 
To this argument it may be replied that it is much better to 
have the children under the care of a man than it is to have them 
go along the road with no supervision. Anyone who has had 
a chance to observe has found that many improper things are 
said and done along the road when the children have no grown 
person looking after them. 

d. Children have to start from, home too early in the morning. 
Where the children walk a long distance they also have to 
start early and if the roads are bad they are tired out when 
they arrive at the school. If the longest distance any child has 
to travel is five miles the objection offered cannot be a very 
serious one. It may also be added that when transportation is 
furnished there is no loitering along the road. The children 
are taken directly to their homes and, as a rule, arrive there 
almost as soon as they would if they were walking a much 
shorter distance. 



Consolidation op School Districts. 69 

e. Persons cannot he found to transport the children. Where- 
ever transportation has been adopted there have always been 
persons ready to take the job. 

f. Children will have to eat cold dinners. In answer to 
this objection it may be stated that most country children are 
doing so now. 

g. The roads are poor. Where the roads are poor it is diffi- 
cult for the children to walk to school. The main consideration 
that must be made in regard to this objection is that the terri- 
tory comprised in one district needs to be smaller. 

h. It will lessen the value of farms in the community if the 
school house is abandoned. Nearness to a schoolhouse does not 
necessarily increase the value of the farm. It depends on 
what kind of a school the community has access to. If the 
school is a poor one it rather detracts from farm values. If 
the people in the community have access to a good school it 
increases the value of the farms in that community, even though 
that school may be at a distance. 

7. While we are urging consolidation wherever feasible 
we must not neglect the one\-ro,om school. It has been men- 
tioned before that even if consolidation is effected to its full- 
est extent, there still will be thousands of one-room schools. 
In the state of Indiana, where consolidation has made the 
greatest progress, there are still 7000 one-room schools. The 
one-room school, therefore, is a factor in our educational sys- 
tem that must be reckoned with. George W. Knorr makes the 
following statement in the bulletin previously referred to: 

"It is apparent that in their respective spheres both forms of 
schools (consolidated and one-room) will always occupy an impor- 
tant place in our educational system. 

"Communities not favorably situated as regards practicability of 
consolidation will see the necessity of building up a district school 
system on the most modern plan. Singularly the evolution of a con- 
solidated school and the complete change of inherited and time- 
honored academic ideas concerning methods and purposes of educa- 
tion have fallen simultaneously within recent decades." 

In this connection we are quoting from an address made by 
Supt. Howard A. Gass, at the meeting of the National Educa- 
tional Association in Boston (see pages 275-276 report of N. 
E. A. 1910) : 

"I am an advocate of consolidated schools whenever and where- 
ever it is possible to establish and maintain them. So far as my 
information goes, consolidated schools have met with universal ap- 



70 Consolidation of School Districts. 

proval. They offer opportunities that cannot be enjoyed by the 
students of the one-room school. They are growing in popularity 
and rapidly increasing in numbers. In my own state (Missouri), 
where we now have not to exceed twenty consolidated districts, I 
hope to see within the next two years not fewer than two hundred. 
But when all such schools have been established that conditions will 
warrant, there will still remain a large number, in fact, the larger 
number, of schools that must be taught in the one-room schoolhouse. 
"Until recent years the one-room school was the only school known 
in rural communities. The country people in times past have been 
taught in such schools. A majority of country schools will continue 
to be taught in one-room buildings. Certain physical conditions in 
many rural communities make any other kind of school impossible. 
Impassable streams, bad roads, mountainous districts, sparse pop- 
ulation make the one-room school necessary, in fact, the only school 
possible for communities so situated. Schoolhouses, whether one- 
room or more, should be situated so that every child may have an 
opportunity to secure at least the fundamentals of an education. 
It must be remembered that some of the best schools in rural com- 
munities are the one-room schools. Every school, wherever located, 
should give the child a chance to so develop and train his powers as 
to make the best use of his opportunities in his life-work. The one- 
room school should give the child a thorough understanding of the 
fundamentals of an education. The essentials should be taught, and 
well taught and that can be done by a good teacher in a one-room 
school as well as in a school of larger proportions. It is more neces- 
sary, probably, to have an expert teacher in a one-room school than to 
have such a teacher in a graded school. The teacher in the isolated 
districts must teach, and teach well, all of the subjects that the pupils 
of the school are capable of studying. The best and wisest manage- 
ment is that which secures for the one-room school the best teaching 
talent that a liberal community can provide and gives the pupils as 
many months of school and as careful instruction as can be had in 
the larger centers. The essentials should be so well taught as to 
enable the children of such communities to make their way in life 
should they not have opportunity to secure training in higher 
schools." 

In all one-room schools it is important to get teachers who have 
been well trained for their work. Even the small school re- 
quires a strong teacher. The small school is not an easy school 
to teach. The teacher must be resourceful, and be able to make 
up for the lack of life due to the small number of children. 
In a small school it is possible to do individual work provided 
the teacher is capable of doing it. That excellent work can 
be done in the one-room school is a fact that every one will 
admit. The difficulty, however, lies in securing a properly quali- 
fied teacher. 

No school board should neglect its duty because consolida- 
tion is not feasible or because the people are opposing the con- 
solidation movement. School officers should keep in mind that 
it is their duty to give the children of the district the best 



Consolidation of School Districts. 



71 



educational advantages possible. The sckoolhouse should be 
sanitary and comfortable, no matter how few children may be 
enrolled. Special effort should be made to have the attend- 
ance as regular as possible. Where the teacher, school board, 
and patrons cooperate wonderful results can be shown. Dis- 
trict No. 10, Platteville, Grant County, has the most perfect at- 
tendance record in the state although the enrollment of the 




:; 






FIGURE 20.-^SCHOOL GROUNDS, DISTRICT NO. 10, PLATTEVILLE. 

This school has an enviable record for perfect attendance. The children and teacher 
are preparing the ground for a flower garden. See the "teeter." Children enjoy the 
playground and apparatus with which to play, such as swings, teeters, merry-go-round, 
sand pile, football, basket ball, parallel bars, trapeze, etc. 



school has been comparatively small. During the year 1908-9 
eight pupils were enrolled. Every pupil attended school every 
day for eight months with the exception of a six year old child 
who attended 138 days. The next school year ten pupils were 
enrolled. Nine of those attended every day during the eight 
months' term. One pupil five years old attended 100 days. 
During the year 1910-11 eleven pupils were enrolled. Six of 
these attended every day for nine months; two pupils missed 
one day each; one pupil missed two days. One child seven 
years old attended 165 days and another child five years old 



72 Consolidation of School Districts. 

attended 128 days. This record is given as an ideal for other 
schools to approach. 

School officers should provide the necessary equipment for 
their school no matter what the enrollment may be. Good 
blackboard, supplementary readers, dictionaries, and other ma- 
terial necessary for the school work should be provided. Un- 
less the proper equipment is furnished it is impossible to get 
good results even though the teacher may have plenty of time 
for instruction. Neither should the board and the teacher for- 
get that the primary purpose of the school, no matter what its 
location or its size may be, is to aid the home in the bringing 




FIGURE 21.— KOSSUTH AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL EXHIBIT. 
Six Schools, Town of Kossuth, Manitowoc County. 



up of the children. The teacher should study the community 
to ascertain the condition and the needs of the people, so that 
she can make the instruction as vital and as related to life 
as possible. An effort should be made to make the school a so- 
cial center by bringing the parents into the school room to lis- 
ten to children's programs and to discuss questions that 
are of interest to the older people. Some excellent descrip- 
tions could be written of gatherings of various kinds that have 
been held in the one-room schools of the state. These gather- 
ings, moreover, furnish an excellent means for the discussion 
of questions of various kinds, among which is this question of 
consolidation. During the past year many of the farmers' 



Consolidation of School Districts. 



73 



clubs of the state had discussions on this very topic. In many 
school districts fairs were held in the fall at which were ex- 
hibited agricultural products that had been raised by the pu- 
pils during the summer. Many of these fairs were held in one- 
room schools. 

In closing the discussion of this chapter we urge that each 
community study its educational problems carefully, and try 
to secure for itself the best school possible. If consolidation 
can be brought about, the question should be discussed freely, 
the advantages described and the problems worked out. If 
consolidation is not feasible, the community should take steps 
to secure for itself the best possible one-room school. Under 
the law it is also possible to secure high-school facilities even 
though consolidation is impossible. This subject is discussed 
in another chapter. 




FIGURE 22.— A MODEL ONE-ROOM SCHOOL BUILDING. 
Dist. No. 1 Joint, Town of Maiden Rock, Pierce County, Wisconsin. 



74 Consolidation of School Districts. 



CHAPTER VI. 
CONSOLIDATION,— METHOD OF PROCEDURE. 

For Wisconsin the following four statements are true: 

1. All changes in school district boundaries are made by 
the town boards of supervisors, (or by an order of the state 
superintendent in case of an appeal from the action of the 
supervisors). 

2. There is no legal restriction to the size of the district. 
The town board (or boards) may unite any number of dis- 
tricts into one district and make other alterations in the dis- 
trict boundaries. 

3. Any person considering himself aggrieved by any action 
of the town board (or boards) may within thirty days of such 
action appeal to the state superintendent. 

4. In case the changes in district boundaries affect a joint 
district (a district composed of territory lying in two or more 
towns), the town boards of all the towns affected must meet 
and a majority of each and every town board must vote in 
favor of the change in order to carry the proposition. 

Note: The word "town" includes villages and cities and 
the word "supervisors" includes "village board of trustees" 
and "city council." 

From the above it is seen that the people do not necessarily 
vote upon a proposition to consolidate districts. There is no 
harm done, however, if a district should adopt resolutions con- 
cerning consolidation, and very often such an act would in- 
fluence the town board who, as a rule, take whatever action 
the people want. 

There are two methods of starting the movement. 

THE FIRST METHOD. 

The town board may change district boundaries upon their 
own motion. This they may do at any of their meetings. 
Note the following extract from the statute: 



Consolidation of School Districts. 75 

"Section 418. Whenever the town board shall contemplate an 
alteration of a district they shall give at least five days' notice in 
writing to the clerk of the district or districts to be affected thereby, 
stating in such notice when and where they will be present to decide 
upon such proposed alteration; and such clerk or clerks shall im- 
mediately notify the other members of the board. No territory 
shall be detached from one district unless by the same order it be 
attached to another; and a district may be dissolved by attaching all 
its territory to other districts." 

Under this method there must be at least two meetings of 
the town board to effect the change; at the first they decide 
to take the matter up and fix a day for the hearing ; make out 
and sign the notices to the clerks and direct some one to serve 
these notices, make due return of service and file said return 
in the town clerk's office; at the second they have the hear- 
ing, where any one is privileged to express himself as in favor 
of or opposed to the proposition, after which they may take 
final action. 

The law continues: 

"Sec. 413. The town board shall make a written order describing 
the territory affected by the alteration, union or formation of dis- 
tricts and file the same, within twenty days, with the town clerk, and 
when districts are to be united or a new district formed, deliver to 
a taxable inhabitant of the new district their notice in writing 
describing its boundaries and appointing a time and place for the 
first district meeting, and therein direct such inhabitant to notify all 
of the qualified voters of the district, either personally or by leaving 
a written notice at his place of residence, of the time and place of 
such meeting at least five days before the time appointed therefor; 
and said inhabitant shall notify the voters of such district accord- 
ingly, and indorse thereon a return containing the names of all per- 
sons thus notified and said notice and return shall be recorded as a 
part of the record of the first meeting in such district. Provided 
that an unintentional omission to so notify not to exceed one-sixth 
of said voters shall not invalidate said notice." 

The electors of a district assembled at this first meeting are 
privileged to transact without any special notice any and all 
business that may be transacted at any regular, annual meet- 
ing, and to adjourn from time to time until all business is com- 
pleted. 

THE SECOND METHOD. 

By this method the people themselves take the initiative. Pe- 
titions asking for the consolidation of certain districts are pre- 
pared and circulated, a separate petition being prepared for 
each district. The following form may be used for such peti- 
tion. 



76 Consolidation of School Districts. 



To , Chairman of 

the Town of , County of , 

State of Wisconsin. 

Dear Sir: We, the undersigned legal voters, men and women, of 

school district No (Joint) of the Town (or towns) of 

County of , 

do most earnestly and respectfully petition you to call a meeting of 
the Board (or Boards) of Supervisors of the town (or towns) of 

, County of 

for the purpose of considering the question of altering the boundaries 

of school district Xo and school district No of the 

town (or towns) of and forming the 

territory now comprised in said districts into one consolidated or 
enlarged district for all school purposes. 

We further certify that the persons whose names are hereto at- 
tached constitute one-third or more of the legal voters of school dis- 
trict Xo , town of 

Praying that you will grant our petition and at an early day cause 
the notices required by law to be lawfully served upon all super- 
visors and clerks of school districts entitled thereto, we remain, 
Yours respectfully, 

Signed 



At least one-third of the voters (men and women) of each 
district must sign the petitions, after which they are filed with 
the town chairman. Women who are twenty-one years of age 
or over are voters, provided they are otherwise qualified, and 
should be included when the number of voters is considered. 

When the chairman receives these petitions he sets a day on 
which a hearing will be held. He notifies in writing the other 
members of the town board and and also every district clerk 
whose territory is affected by the proposed consolidation. At 
least five days' notice must be given and the person or persons 
serving the notice must make due return that the notices have 
been duly and properly served and said return must be filed 
in the office of the town clerk. Notice by mail is not sufficient. 
If the territory is large two or more persons may be desig- 
nated to give service of notice and the person or persons so 
directed may receive appointment and direction by mail. 

This hearing is similar in every respect to the one mentioned 
under the first method. After the hearing the board may 
change the district boundaries and make an order designating 
what territory shall constitute the consolidated district. 

STATUS OF THE CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT. 

When two or more districts, are joined, this large district is 
similar in even- respect to any other school district. The peo- 



Consolidation of School Districts. 77 

pie will all meet at one place whenever a school meeting is held, 
and they have the same powers that the people in any other 
school district have. The affairs of the consolidated district 
are administered by one board. All the property belonging to 
the several districts will become the property of the consoli- 
dated district. 

In effecting a consolidation it is suggested that the number 
of one of the old districts be retained. In this way no com- 
plication can arise regarding the consolidated district receiv- 
ing the state money the following year. 

SPECIAL STATE AID FOR TRANSPORTATION IN A CONSOLIDATED 

DISTRICT. 

If two or more districts be consolidated and the consolidated 
district furnish transportation to the children living more than 
two miles from school, the state may be called upon to pay ten 
cents per day for each child transported more than two miles. 
(Section 419e, School Code.) 

Children living inside the two mile limit may also be trans- 
ported but no state aid can be obtained for their transporta- 
tion. !■ ! ; ' 

This special state aid (ten cents per day) is given to consoli- 
dated districts only. To other districts the amount is five cents 
per day. (Section 430 — 4, School Code.) 

SUGGESTIONS AS TO PROCEDURE IN A CASE OF CONSOLIDATION. 

If consolidation in a certain community is thought to be feasi- 
ble the matter should be studied carefully. The following 
method of procedure is suggested: 

1. Make a map of the territory proposed to be consolidated 
On this map indicate the roads, schoolhouses and the homes. 
With each home indicate the number of children attending 
school or likely to attend. 

2. Plan the transportation routes. As a rule the home that 
is visited first by the' transportation vehicle should not be 
more than five miles from the school. One vehicle properly ar- 
ranged will do for from 20 to 25 pupils. With these facts in 
mind it will be possible to determine how may vehicles will be 



78 Consolidation of School Districts. 

necessary. It is usually understood that the children who live 
a short distance from the school shall walk. 

3. Determine the number of children that have to be trans- 
ported more than two miles. . . The state will pay the district ten 
cents per day each day for each child transported. In this way 
it is possible to determine the amount the state will pay to aid 
the district in the matter of transportation. 

4. Find out how many children will attend the consolidated 
school. Having determined this, next determine the number 
of teachers necessary. Ascertain if there is any special state 
aid for a state graded school coming to the district. If a two 
room state graded school is organized the state will pay $200 
special aid. A three room school will receive $300. 

5. Ascertain the assessed valuation of the consolidated district. 

6. Find out the amount of money the present districts are 
raising by local tax. When these facts have been obtained it 
is possible to estimate what the school district will need to raise 
after the consolidation has been inaugurated. The principal items 
of expenditure will be transportation and teachers' wages. Hav- 
ing determined what the district will receive in the form of 
special state aids, it will be possible to ascertain whether the 
new plan will result in a greater or less expenditure of money. 

The following diagram will illustrate how to proceed regard- 
ing plans for transportation routes. This sketch has been pre- 
pared by Supt. J. C. Brockert of Grant county and shows the 
possibility of consolidating the schools in the town mentioned, 
(seep. 80). 

A regular schedule should be made so that the parents may 
know when to have their children ready. Where the system 
has been w r orked out the transportation wagon comes around 
every morning regularly. 

In many cases it is impossible for the w^agon to call at 
every home. Arrangements are made whereby the children 
meet the bus at a certain place at a specified time. In very 
bad weather the parents should help their children just as 
they would do when they have to take them to school them- 
selves. When the weather is bad., parents usually can afford 
to take the time to do this. 



Consolidation of School Districts. 



79 




80 Consolidation of School Districts. 



ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS REGARDING TRANSPORTATION. 

The school board should take all steps necessary to secure 
a safe and efficient transportation service wherever the system 
is adopted. Whenever dissatisfaction arises it is usually due 
to carelessness on the part of someone connected with this 
work. The drivers should be of good moral character, trust- 
worthy, and regular in their habits. Written contracts should 
be made specifying the routes and the time the children are 
to be delivered at the school building. The driver should 
have full control of the children while they are with him and 
report cases of disobedience and bad conduct. With the 
proper kind of driver the parents can feel assured that their 
children are in safe hands on the way to and from school. 

It is recommended that the district own the bus and the 
driver furnish the team. The reason for this is obvious. The 
wagon thus becomes part of the school equipment. 

The following is a description of the transportation route at 
Hazel Green (See pp. 12-13.) 

The driver starts from his home and travels east three-eighths 
of a mile where he picks up nine children who meet at what is 
called the "turn round" place. He returns over this piece of 
road and travels west from the original corner five-eighths of a 
mile, where there is a home with one child. Turning east again 
he picks up four children three-eighths of a mile from the second 
stopping place. He proceeds the remaining one-fourth mile to 
the original corner and then drives directly south one and one- 
fourth miles to Hazel Green. 

The following is the schedule used by the driver : 









Morning 


Trip. 






Stop No. 






Distance. 


No. children. 


Time. 


Start 












7 


50 A. M 


1 






% 


9 


8 


00 A. M 


2 






1% mi. 


1 


8 


20 A. M 


3 






1% mi. 


4 


8 


30 A. M 


4 (H. 


G. 


School) 


3% mi. 




8 


50 A. M 



The driver lives iy 2 miles from the Hazel Green school, hence 
has a home drive of 1% miles. He has a total distance of 4% 
miles. It will be seen in this case that the children are on the road 
50 minutes. 



Consolidation of School Districts. 81 

CLOSING SCHOOL TEMPORARILY. 
(496q— 496t, School Code.) 

Under section 496q of the statutes it is possible for a school 
district to close its school temporarily and authorize its board 
to make arrangements with neighboring districts for the school- 
ing of the children. This temporary closing of the school is 
not the consolidation of the districts. It is mentioned here, 
however, as it may be practicable and advisable under certain 
conditions where consolidation itself cannot be carried out. 
The electors may vote at any annual or special school meeting 
to close its school. If this action is taken, provision must be 
made for the payment of the tuition of the children in other 
schools. Transportation must also be furnished unless the 
children should be living so close to other schools that it 
would be unnecessary. If a district makes proper provisions 
for transportation and the payment of tuition to a public 
school it will receive from the state special aid in the sum of 
$150.00. ' !j ] 

It is possible under the law to make contracts with several 
persons for transporting pupils. It is also possible to enter 
into agreement with the parents themselves to transport their 
own children. No special state aid can be obtained under this 
Act unless the children of the district are sent to the following 
schools : 

(a) First. The grades below the high school. 

(b) Second. A state graded school. 

(c) Third. A first class rural school. 

A district cannot receive the special state aid if its children 
are sent to another district that maintains only a second class 
rural school. 

In case a district takes advantage of this Act a special re- 
port must be made to the state superintendent on or before 
the first day of August. Blanks for this report will be fur- 
nished on application to the state superintendent. 

By taking advantage of this act the district does not lose 
its organization. It still remains a distinct municipality and 
receives its state and county money just the same as it would 
if it were maintaining its own school ; annual meetings will 
be held- taxes will be voted, officers elected and the school 
affairs will be administered by the board. 



82 Consolidation of School Districts. 



CHAPTER VII. HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION FOR 
COUNTRY COMMUNITIES. 

It has been pointed out in various parts of this bulletin that 
one of the principal advantages of consolidation is that it 
makes it possible to secure a school of higher rank for our 
country children. In some localities, however, it has also been 
shown that consolidation on a large scale is impracticable and 
that the one-room school must necessarily continue. In other 
localities the extent to which consolidation can be applied is 
the union of two or three districts, thereby securing to the 
community a graded school with probably nine or ten grades. 
In such communities, however, it may be possible to give to the 
country children the advantages of a high school education 
without consolidation. Such communities may therefore be in- 
terested in the organization of what is known in Wisconsin as 
the town high school and the union high school. 

THE TOWN HIGH SCHOOL. 

The town high school is a high school established and main- 
tained by a town. Of these Wisconsin had during the school 
year 1911-12 thirty-eight in operation. The proposition of es- 
tablishing a town high school is voted upon by the people of 
the town at any annual or special meeting. The town board 
draws up a resolution providing for the establishment of a 
high school and a ten days' notice of the election as given. At 
this election the people vote by ballots on which are written 
or printed: "For the town high school" and "Against the 
town high school." 

If the majority of the voters voting on this subject are in 
favor of the proposition the high school is established. 

THE UNION HIGH SCHOOL. 

In many localities it is impracticable for the town to estab- 
lish a high school, even if it is financially able to do so, because 
of physical features, location of villages, etc. In order to rem- 
edy this matter a law was passed in 1909 providing for the 
organization of the union high schools. Under this law any 



Consolidation of School Districts. 83 

territory containing at least 36 square miles and bounded by 
town lines, section lines, half section lines, school district bounv 
dary lines or natural boundary lines, such as lakes, streams, 
etc., may be organized into a high school district. Such terri- 
tory may include portions of several towns. Under the provi- 
sion of an amendment made in 1911, any town may organize a 
high school under this union high school law. 

It will be seen therefore, that wherever a community is suffi- 
ciently well settled to make the establishment of a high school 
financially feasible it is possible to give to the country child- 
ren the advantages of the high school near the home. 

STATE AID GIVEN TO TOWN AND UNION HIGH SCHOOLS. 

The state is more liberal towards these schools than the ordi- 
nary district high schools. Wherever a school is established 
as a town or a union free high school the state gives a special 
aid equivalent to one-half of the amount paid to the teachers 
in such schools providing that not more than $900 shall be 
given to schools employing two teachers, $1,200 to schools em- 
ploying three teachers and $1,500 to schools employing four or 
more teachers. 

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS. 

1. The State Superintendent has made a general recom- 
mendation that no high school be organized unless the district 
establishing such high school shall have an assessed valuation 
of at least $400,000. As a rule in the older portions of the state 
it is impossible to lay out a territory with an area of 36 square 
miles that has not at least this amount of assessed valuation. 
In many portions of the state 36 sections of good farm land 
has an assessed valuation varying from $1,000,000 to $2,000,- 
000. The first fact to ascertain, therefore, in the establishment 
of a high school of this kind is the assessed valuation of the dis- 
trict. 

2. The work to be done in these schools, the courses of 
study and the general administration does not need to differ 
materially from that of the ordinary district high school. Any 
high school that is located in a rural community should make 
the development of that community one of its principal func- 
tions. Whatever has been said regarding the work that should 



S4 Consolidation of School Districts. 

be done in a high school that results from consolidation applies 
equally well to the high schools that are established under this 
law. 

3. In order to establish any high school in the state there 
must be residing in the high school district at least 25 persons 
of schcol age qualified to take up the high school work. This 
does not mean that 25 pupils must be enrolled. It will be nec- 
essary, however, that the department be sent a list of all the 
persons that are eligible. A person having a common school 
diploma has the privilege of attending the high school. 

4. The cost of the buildings necessary to accommodate the 
children attending such schools varies from $8,000.00 to $15,- 
000.00, depending upon the locality and the character of the 
building desired. Under the law it is possible for the high 
school district and the local district to erect a building jointly, 
each district bearing its proportionate share of the cost. 

5. If the high school enrollment does not exceed 50 it is 
possible for two teachers to do the work, provided that only 
one general course is administered. If special work is intro- 
duced, or if the enrollment exceeds 50 it is necessary to add a 
third teacher. The cost to this large district of maintaining a 
high schcol is usually small and it offers to the young people 
of the country the advantage of securing a higher education 
with the home advantages. 

6. Further information regarding the establishment of the 
town and the union free high schools may be obtained from the 
high school manual issued by the State Superintendent. 



Consolidation of School Districts. 85 



APPENDICES 



±. SCHOOLS IN WISCONSIN HAVING A SMALL AT- 
TENDANCE 

One of the reasons given for consolidation is that many of the 
achools in the state have a very small attendance. In order that 
the people may know to what extent this condition exists in our 
state the committee has prepared the table given on the next page. 

It will be seen from this table that many of the schools with a 
small attendance are found in the sparsely settled sections of the 
state. In many of these localities there are no possibilities of 
consolidation, at least at the present time. It is often a question 
of having a small school or no school at all. A glance at the 
table, however, shows us that many of the small schools are lo- 
cated in the older sections of the state. Here is where consolida- 
tion could be effected to great advantage. In many cases, it is 
true, the surface of the country does not permit consolidation on 
an extensive scale, but there are places, even in a hilly country, 
where two or three schools can be combined. 

The disadvantages of a small school have been pointed out in 
other parts of this bulletin. There is a difficulty in securing 
properly prepared teachers even if adequate salaries are paid. 
When there are but a few pupils in attendance, there are but few 
families directly interested in the school. It is difficult to pre- 
pare special school programs and thus bring about the use of the 
schoolhouse as a community social and civic center. The chil- 
dren lose interest in school and this results in irregular attend- 
ance and poor work. The older children frequently leave school 
before finishing the course. 



86 



Consolidation of School Districts. 



THE DISTRIBUTION OP SMALL SCHOOLS IN WISCONSIN. 
(School year 1910-1911) 







T3 d 
























a' 

2* 


'A ^ 


Number of one room schools w 


th an 


average daily 




Be 








attendance of 










a 

3 


« a 














































© O 


















J ° 


u 




a © 


o-> . 


















9 o 


O 






& c3 Ji 






















County. 


© 


«a§ 
or £. 

UJA 


u 

© 
















o 

— 
©T3 • 


© 
© 




%% \%*X 


O 




a 








a 


© 
> 


xJ© = 


1 S 




Sf SaS 

3 x. 3 a o 




> 


s. 


© 

> 




2 


© 


> 
© 




- « 2 
© o S 


"3 £ 




£ z 


— 


an 


an 


H 


Z 


r- 


K 


EH 


< 


r- 


Adams 


85 


3 


3 


2 


5 


4 


5 


7 


6 


3 




38 


Ashland 


40 
124 
























Barron 





3 


2 





3 


2 


1 


6 








17 


Bayfield 


59 


1 


3 


7 


4 


3 


3 


1 


3 


4 





29 


Brown 


78 


1 


3 


1 











2 


1 








8 


Buffalo 


79 











2 








3 


3 








8 


Burnett 


75 







1 


4 


6 


4 


9 


5 


1 




30 


Calumet 


61 


6 





1 


2 


2 


3 


2 


6 


3 





19 


Chippewa 


126 




6 


1 


3 


4 


3 


4 


3 


7 





31 


Clark 


133 


o 





2 


2 


4 


2 


2 


5 
4 


2 
3 




1 


19 
32 


Columbia 


127 


2 


1 


2 


6 


2 


3 


8 


Crawford — 


84 





3 


2 


6 


6 


6 


8 


3 


6 


1 


41 


Dane 


210 


1 


11 


3 


6 


5 




8 


6 


4 





51 


Dodge 


182 


3 


10 


2 


6- 


7 


6 


14 


8 


11 





67 


Door 


64 





o 














1 


1 
6 


o 


o 


2 
39 


Douglas 


70 





9 


8 


3 


1 


8 


2 


2 





Dunn 


116 





1 


2 


2 


<> 


3 


1 


2 


2 





15 


Eau Claire — 


71 





3 








3 





2 


2 


2 





12 


Florence 


14 








1 


2 




















3 


Fond du Lac. 


1.58 


2 


10 


2 


5 




7 


5 


10 


8 





56 


Forest 


19 
20? 
























Grant 


4 


8 


1 


8 


15 


11 


9 


17 


17 





90 


Green 


120 
65 


..... 


2 


5 



3 

2 


1 
3 


5 
6 


3 
3 


8 
6 






27 


Green Lake 


4 





29 


Iowa 


118 


3 


8 


2 


6 




6 


4 


11 


4 





49 




22 
97 




















7 



7 


Jackson 





7 


3 


3 


1 


3 


3 


2 


5 


27 


Jefferson 


JOS 1 


5 


4 





2 


fi 


■i 


7 


2 





32 


Juneau 


98 I 1 


9 


2 





3 


5 


3 


6 


1 





30 


Kenosha 


54 I 


1 





1 








1 











3 


Kewaunee 


52 1 
































La Crosse 


65 





2 


1 





o 


1 


4 


3 








13 


Lafayette 


106 


2 


4 


5 


7 


3 


7 


8 


5 


7 





48 


Langlade 


73 





9 


4 


5 


2 


2 










21 


Lincoln 


72 





7 


1 


2 


2 


2 




1 






21 


Manitowrc . . . 


90 





1 











2 





o 








3 


Maratbr n 


186 





2 





9 


3 


1 


3 


7 


1 





19 


Marinette 


82 


1 


5 








1 


1 


1 


4 








13 


Marouette 


54 





2 








1 


2 


n 


4 


2 





11 


Milwaukee 


4S 











1 











1 


1 





3 


Monroe 


137 





2 


3 


2 


1 


7 


5 


5 


4 


1 


so 


Oconto 


7- 





1 


3 


1 


1 














5 


11 




53 
114 
























Outagami ■ ... 




1 


1 


6 





5 


6 


1 


2 




22 


Ozaukee 


51 










1 


1 


4 


2 


3 


2 




11 


Pepin 


36 











1 











2 








3 


Pierce 


103 
105 


1 




1 

2 







1 


1 

2 


4 
2 


4 
2 


3 
3 



1 






14 


Polk 


13 


Pcrtage 


lor, 








2 








1 


4 


7 


6 





20 




SO 
-6 





10 
3 


2 
O 


4 



1 
2 


5 
3 


2 
5 


4 
3 




2 


2 


33 


Racine 


18 


Richland 


105 







2 


3 


3 


3 


5 


6 


S 





25 


Rock 


144 
68 
112 


1 


3 


7 
8 
4 


5 
3 
1 


3 
3 

1 


11 
3 



10 

1 
4 


7 
2 
5 


9 

3 ' 


7 
3 
1 





1 


60 . 


Rusk 


27 


St. Croix 


23 


Sauk 


138 





4 


4 


2 


6 


9 1 


11 1 


12 


6 





54 



Consolidation of School Districts, 
the distribution of small schools in wisconsin. 

(School year 1910-1911) 





E 


_ to 

7, a 


Number of one room schools with an 


avera 


ge daily 




8* 


A^ 








attendance of 










a 


o 03 














































§R 




















l o 






o u 


















03 O 


o 




°o; 


o B «S 


















O 




County. 
















, 






g s 


*03 




OjO 

& o 

3 r. 


03 £t 

•2 -a o 
S a c 


CM 

o 
> 


* 


> 

0Q 


bo 


o3 

G 


d 


G 

> 
0> 


o5 
> 


St! * 

03 S S 


SI 

0<H 




55 


£ 


fa 


3Q 


W 


fc 


H 


£ 


H 


«! 


H 


Sawyer 

Shawano 


£9 
























93 


2 


1 





2 


1 


2 





3 


3 





14 


Sheboygan . . . 


89 











1 





1 





3 


2 





7 


Taylor 


S3 


3 


5 


4 





4 


5 


1 


2 








24 


Trempealeau . . 


96 





4 








1 


1 


2 





1 





9 


Vernon 


140 





2 


1 


2 


3 


2 


2 


3 








15 


Vilas 


22 
91 



2 



4 



4 




7 



10 



5 




7 







3 


11 




11 


Walworth ..... 


42 


Washburn 


65 





9 


2 


8 


2 


8 


5 


3 


1 





38 


Washington .. 


CO 





3 


2 


3 


2 


6 


6 





1 





23 


Waukesha 


119 








1 


2 


5 


2 





2 


3 





15 


Waupaca 


122 


2 





0' 








2 


3 


9 


3 





19 


Waushara — 


£6 





2 


2 





3 


1 


5 


3 


4 





20 


Winnebagx) . . . 


93 


1 


1 





1 


3 


1 


3 


3 


1 





14 


Wood 


93 





5 


2 


4 


4 


2 


4 





1 





92 






Total . . . 


3,494 


42 


220 


111 


156 


176 


21S 


229 


259 


165 


30 


1,606 




FIGURE 24.— THE TEACHER AND HER LONE PUPIL IN ONE OF WISCONSIN'S 

SMALL SCHOOLS. 

This school has been maintained at a cost of $235 per year with an average daily 
attendance of two for the past ten years. 



88 Consolidation of School Districts. 



B. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE OF FIF- 
TEEN REGARDING CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 
AND TRANSPORTATION OF PUPILS 

The suggestions given in Chapter VI of this bulletin are based 
upon the present statutes. The committee recognizes, however, 
that the present law could be greatly improved so that consolida- 
tion might be effected more easily. After a discussion on this 
subject at one of its meetings the committee adopted the follow- 
ing recommendations : 

(a) The present law relative to the changing of district bound- 
aries should be simplified. We believe it would be a better plan 
to have a County Board of Education, which would have matters 
of this kind in charge. Such a Board would be a more permanent 
body, and could decide upon these changes from a broader view- 
point than is possible under the present arrangement. The re- 
sult of this change would be that it would be possible then to do 
some definite constructive work in building up school centers. 

(b) The existing law, providing for the transportation of pu- 
pils, should be changed. At present, the law does not compel 
the establishment of transportation routes in case consolidation 
is effected. The law should be so framed that the people would 
be guaranteed a safe system of transportation in case several dis- 
tricts are united. 

(c) The State should provide in some way for a fund to be 
used for transportation purposes. At present, special State aid 
for transportation is taken out of the apportionment to the com- 
mon schools. The transportation of school children is an impor- 
tant phase of rural-school education, and the State should recog- 
nize its importance by providing special funds for the purpose. 

(d) In some cases, where the attendance falls below a certain 
point, and where it is possible to make provision for the children 
to attend neighboring schools, consolidation should be made com- 
pulsory. Provision for arranging the details in such cases could 
be put into the hands of the County Board of Education. 

(e) Instead of offering special State aid, depending upon the 
number of children transported, there ought to be made a pro- 
vision for the payment of a definite sum to the consolidated dis- 
trict, such sum to be determined somewhat by the size of the 
district, or of the school. 



Consolidation of School Districts. 89 



A REFERENCE LIST OF BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, AND 

BULLETINS, DEALING WITH THE SUBJECT 

OF CONSOLIDATION. 

U. S. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION. 

Consolidated Rural Schools and Organization of a County System. 
By George W. Knorr. Bulletin 232, office of Experiment Station, 
Department of Agriculture. 

A new bulletin is at present in process of preparation by the United 
States Bureau of Education. 

OTHER BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS. 

A study of Fifteen Consolidated Rural Schools their Organization, 
Cost Efficiency and Varied Interests. By George W. Knorr. Pub- 
lished by the Southern Education Board, Washington, D. C, 1911. 

Our Country Schools, by Supt. O. J. Kern, Rockford, 111. See pp. 
240-251. This book is on the Township Library List and is found 
in many of our school libraries. 

The American Rural School, by Prof. H. W. Foght. Consolida- 
tion is dicussed in the last chapter, pp. 302-333. This book is on 
the Township Library list. 

Country Life and the Country School, by Mabel Carney. See 
pp. 149-187. Published by Row, Peterson & Co., Chicago. 

Farmers' Institute Bulletin, 1903, pp. 95-108. Address given by 
Supt. C. P. Cary at Farmers' Institute at Marshfield. A copy of this 
bulletin is usually found in the district school library. 

Report of the Committee of Twelve on Rural Schools, 1897; pp. 
46-55; 137-138. 

Proceedings of N. E. A. for the following years: 1901, pp. 804- 
811; 1902, pp. 224-231 and 793-798; 1903, pp. 916-936; 1904, pp. 
313-316; 1906, pp. 337-338; 1907, pp. 277-279; 1908, 420-431 
and 1054-1060; 1910, pp. 276-277. 

STATE PUBLICATIONS. 

The following states have published bulletins or reports dealing 
with the subject of consolidation: 

Colorado — The Consolidation of Rural Schools. Bulletin issued 
by the State Teachers' College, Greeley, Colorado. 1911. 

Connecticut — Report of the Board of Education 1910 — 1911, 
pages 170-171, 272-275. Hartford, Connecticut. 

Illinois — Consolidation of Country Schools, 2nd Edition, 1904. 
Bulletin issued by the University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois. 

Annual reports for Winnebago County Schools, Supt. O. J. Kern, 
Rockford, Illinois. 

Indiana — Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
1908, pp. 335-414. 

Iowa — Rural Schools. 1905. Issued by the Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, Des Moines, Iowa. 

Kansas — Consolidation of Rural Schools, 1908, issued by the Su- 
perintendent of Public Instruction, Topeka, Kansas. 

Massachusetts — Consolidation of Schools and the Conveyance of 
Children. Bulletin prepared by G. T. Fletcher, Agent of the Massa- 
chusetts Board of Education. 



90 Consolidation of School Districts. 

Michigan — Consolidation of School Districts in Michigan. 1906. 
Issued by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Lansing, 
Michigan. 

Minnesota — Consolidation of School Districts and Transportation 
of Pupils. Bulletin No. 22, issued by the Department of Public In- 
struction, St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Missouri — Rural School Consolidation. 1911. A Bulletin issued 
by the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri. 

Nebraska — Consolidation of Rural Schools. 1910. Issued by the 
Department of Public Instruction. Lincoln, Nebraska. 

North Dakota — State Aid to Consolidated and Rural Schools. 

1911. Issued by the Department of Education. Bismark, North 
Dakota. 

Consolidation of Rural Schools in North Dakota, by Prof. C. C. 
Schmidt. Reprint from the Quarterly Journal of the University of 
North Dakota, July, 1912. 

North Carolina — Consolidation of Schools and Public Transporta- 
tion of Pupils. 1911. Issued by Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion, Raleigh, North Carolina. 

Ohio — Centralized Schools in Ohio, by A. B. Graham. An exten- 
sion Bulletin published by the Agricultural College, Columbus, Ohio. 
February, 1907. 

Oklahoma — Rural School Consolidation. 1911. Issued by the 
State Board of Education, Oklahoma City. 

South Dakota — Consolidation of Schools in South Dakota. 1908. 
Issued by the Department of Public Instruction, Pierre, S. Dakota. 

Tennessee — Consolidation of Schools and Transportation of Pupils. 

1912. Issued by the Department of Education, Nashville. Tennessee. 
Texas — Consolidation of Rural Schools, School Buildings and 

Plans, and Local Taxation. 1912. Bulletin issued by the State De- 
partment of Education, Austin, Texas. 

Washington — Consolidation of Rural Schools and Transportation 
of Pupils. 1911. Bulletin Issued by Superintendent of Public In- 
struction, Olympia, Washington. 

West Virginia — Some Objections to Consolidation Answered. 
1911. Prepared by L. J. Hanifan, School Commisioner and published 
by the Department of Public Instruction, Charleston, West Va. 

Wisconsin — Annual report and School Directory for Grant county, 
Issued by Superintendent J. C. Brockert, Lancaster, Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin Country Life Conference, February, 1912, pages 44 to 
68. Address delivered by Supt. J. C. Brockert, Lancaster. Bulletin 
issued by the University of Wisconsin. 



INDEX 



Page 

Advantages of consolidation 24-34 

Agricultural school exhibits 72—73 

Area of the consolidated district 55,66,68-69 

Arguments for consolidation 27-31 

Attendance, school 27,55,71-72 

Beetown School (Wis.), The 7-9,41 

Brussels School (Wis.), The , 7,10,39 

Changing district boundaries, method of 74—76 

Closing school temporarily 81 

Colorado, consolidation in 45—46 

Connecticut consolidation in 46-47 

Consolidation 

advantages of 24—34 

arguments for 27-31 

cautions to be observed 66-73 

cost 6, 17-20, 36-37, 50-52, 53-54, 60, 62, 67 

in other states (see also special states in index) 45-65 

in Wisconsin 5-13,35-44 

law for in Wisconsin 74—77 

limitations to 66-73 

method of procedure 74—80 

objections to 68-69 

petition for (form) 76 

purposes of 24-34 

recommendations of Committee of Fifteen regarding 88 

special state aid for 77 

Clubs, children's and parents' 31 , 33-34 

Delaware, consolidation in 47 

Disadvantages of small schools 25,85 

Distribution of small schools in Wisconsin 86-87 

Glen Haven, map of the town of 79 

Harlem School (111.). The 14-16 

Hazel Green School, The abandoned 13 

Hazel Green transportation route 12-13,80 

High School advantages 29, 82-84 



92 Consolidation of School Districts. 

Page 

High schools, Town 82 

High schools, Union ' 82-83 

Holmberg Act of Minnesota 55-56 

Idaho consolidation in 47-48 

Ideal country school system 2 5—27 

Illinois., consolidation in 14-17 

Indiana, consolidation in 20-21, 28, 48-51 

Iowa, consolidation in 51—52 

John Swaney School (111.), The 16-17 

Kansas, consolidation in 52-53 

Kentucky, consolidation in 53 

Knox, consolidation in Town of 11 

Kossuth agricutural school fair 72 

Law regarding consolidation in Wisconsin '74-77 

Lewiston, (Minn.), School, The 17-19 

Limitations to consolidation 66-73 

List of references 89-90 

Maine, consolidation in 53 

Massachusetts, consolidation in 53-54 

Methods of consolidation in Wisconsin 74—80 

Minnesota, consolidation in 17-19,54-56 

Missouri, consolidation in 56 

Model school building in Pierce County 73 

Montana, consolidation in 56 

Nebraska, consolidation in , 5 7 

New York, consolidation in 56-57 

North Carolina, consolidation in 57—58 

North Dakota, consolidation in 58-59 

Objections to consolidation stated 68-69 

Ohio, consolidation in 60—61 

Oklahoma, consolidation in 61-62 

One-room school, The 69-73 

Oregon, consolidation in 62-63 

Pennsylvania, consolidation in 63 

Petition for consolidation (with form) 75-76 

Port Wing School, (Wis.), The 35-38 

Purposes of consolidation 2 4-34 

Recommendations of Committee regarding consolidation 88 

Reference list, consolidation (books, pamphlets, etc.) 89-90 

Relation of school to life 31,72 

Rhode Island, consolidation in 63 

Rock Elm school (Wis.), The 12-14, 42 

Schedules for transportation routes 80 



Consolidation of School Districts. 93 

Page 

School attendance 27,55,71-72 

Selma School (Indiana), The 20-21,28 

Small school, The 25,48-49,51,85-87 

Social center, The school as a 31-3 2 

South Dakota, consolidation in 63 

Special state aid for consolidation 7 7 

Special state aid for Graded Schools 7 

Special state aid for High Schools 83 

Special state aid for transportation 7 7 

Status of consolidated district in Wisconsin 76-77 

Suggestions regarding consolidation 77—78 

Suggestions regarding organization of high schools 83-84 

Suggestions regarding transportation 77-81 

Teachers, importance of the training of 25-27,30-3 2,70 

Temporary closing of school 81 

Tennessee, consolidation in 64 

Texas, consolidation in 64 

Town high schools. 82 

Transportation at Port Wing 37 

Transportation in Wisconsin 35-44 

Transportation law in Wisconsin 77 

Transportation schedules! 80 

Transportation, special state aid for 77 

Transportation, suggestions for 77-80 

Union high schools. 82-83 

Virginia, consolidation in 6 4 

Washington, consolidation in 65 

Wisconsin, consolidation in 5-13,35-44 

Wisconsin, distribution of small schools in 8 6-87 

Wisconsin law for consolidation 74—77 

Wisconsin law for transportation 77 

Zenda School, The 9,11,43 



029 485 053 3 



